


Harry Potter and Destiny's Last Chance

by Kowareta_Tenshi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: BAMF Amelia Bones, BAMF Hermione Granger, Black Lavender Brown, Ginny needs therapy, Grelle is mtf transgender, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Mentions of Star Wars original trilogy, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Redeemed Dudley Dursley, Redeemed Severus Snape, Reptilia28's Don't Fear the Reaper Challenge, Ron Weasley Being an Asshole, crossover with black butler/kuroshitsuji, he might redeem himself, her past bad actions won't be held against her as the story progresses, i suck at tagging lol, i'll probably add more here as i think of it, no seriously he is, seriously she was possessed by voldemort and she needs mental help, some character bashing but it's not the usual bullshit, the chapter titles contain song references or crappy jokes, this is canon but isn't well known unfortunately, we don't do canon around here, ya girl is back on her bullshit and you know you love it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kowareta_Tenshi/pseuds/Kowareta_Tenshi
Summary: This was originally posted on FF.net but I'm more active here.My take on Reptilia28's "Don't Fear the Reaper" challenge. Harry is sent back to his third year on his last chance to fulfill his destiny and change his life for the better. Can he defeat Voldemort, get the girl, and keep his Death from getting fired? Contains a few characters from Black Butler and romance.  Manipulative Dumbledore.  Ron getting called out on his bullshit.
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, Colin Creevey/Original Female Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Dudley Dursley/Daphne Greengrass, Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Katie Bell/Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, Lee Jordan/Alicia Spinnet, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas, Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s), Viktor Krum/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 16
Kudos: 108





	1. Come On, Harry (Don't Fear the Reaper)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my attempt at Reptilia28’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” challenge. The rules are as follows:
> 
> Storyline:
> 
> *Harry is killed at 17 during the fight with Voldemort. He’s sent to his Death’s office (explained later) and finds out that this isn’t the first time that this has happened.
> 
> *Harry’s Death (who can have a human name) is mad at his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths’ records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular one fired.
> 
> *When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soul mate (“Some Granger girl…”) and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soul mate part.
> 
> *Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times, he wasn’t given this option for some reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer’s choosing.
> 
> *Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn’t get fired.
> 
> Requirements:
> 
> *Harry must have died at least three times before this one
> 
> *The memory keeping contract must be included
> 
> *Death must refer to Hermione as “some Granger girl” when Harry’s soul mate turns up in his rant
> 
> *Obviously, must be H/Hr
> 
> *Have fun
> 
> Optional
> 
> *Dumbledore’s manipulations can be a factor in Harry’s premature demises
> 
> All canon Harry Potter jawns belong to J.K. Rowling  
> All canon Black Butler jawns belong to Yana Toboso  
> The challenge belongs to Reptilia28  
> Everything else belongs to me

Chapter 1- Come On, Harry (Don’t Fear the Reaper)

Harry James Potter was very confused. He was currently sitting in a black chair inside a white waiting room of sorts with no idea as to where exactly he was or how he came to be there. The last memory Harry had was of confronting Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. 

“Harry Potter,” a bored female voice called.

Harry looked up at the glass window he hadn’t noticed before and answered, “Yes, ma’am?”

“Come with me, please,” the voice said.

Harry stood and walked to the door next to the window, where he got a good look at the voice’s owner. The female was a little on the short side with thick blonde hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and white dress shirt. 

“This way,” she directed in the same bored tone.

The walk was silent for a few minutes before Harry asked, “Um, Miss…?”

“Mischa,” she supplied.

“Mischa, where am I, and how did I get here?”

“That’s not for me to tell,” she answered as they arrived at a large oak door. “This is our stop.” She opened the door and stuck her head inside.

“Mr. Potter is here to see you,” she informed the room’s occupant.

“WHAT?!” a male voice yelled before sighing resignedly. “Send him in, Mischa.”

The blonde turned to Harry. “Go inside and everything will be explained.”

“O-okay…” Harry answered, still confused.

He stepped inside and turned to thank Mischa, but she was gone. Shrugging, Harry turned around to get a look at the new room and its inhabitant. The room itself was a very tidy office space with a large number of filing cabinets. One strange detail that Harry noted was a long black tree trimmer that was leaning up against the filing cabinet closest to the room’s owner. This man was tall with sleek black hair, yellow-green eyes framed by brown glasses, and a neat and (no doubt) expensive suit. The man had an expression of irritation on his face.

“Mr. Potter, would you please tell me why you stand in my office yet AGAIN?” the man inquired.

“Um, what? I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you before, sir. I have no idea where I am or how I got here.”

The man sighed and pinched his nose. “Of course, you wouldn’t remember, would you? You’ve always had to give up your memories of your visits here, numerous though they may be.” The man sighed again before gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat, Mr. Potter.”

More confused than before, Harry obeyed and sat down.

The man sat down in his own chair and pinched the bridge of his nose once more. “I suppose I should introduce myself…again. I am William Spears, a senior level Grim Reaper and your personal Reaper.”

“Grim Reaper?! Am I dead?” Harry asked, shocked.

“Yes, Mr. Potter, indeed you are. This is actually your sixth time being dead. Had you retained your memories of your several visits to my office, I’d have to think that your goal is to get me fired.”

“Six times?! How could I be dead six times?! Wait, you can get fired?”

“Six times. The first two were at the hands of your aunt and uncle. The first time was after the snake incident at the zoo with your cousin; your uncle made good on his promise of not feeding you for a week and you starved. The second time was your first summer back from Hogwarts, when your aunt cracked your skull with a frying pan for you teasing your cousin about using magic. The third time you made eye contact with the Basilisk before Fawkes blinded it. The fourth time your gillyweed wore off and you drowned in the Black Lake during the Triwizard Tournament. The fifth time you were overdosed on Amortentia by Miss Weasley, and this last time you were murdered by Voldemort. By the way, did you really think that you could take an Avada Kedavra straight on to destroy the Horcrux in your scar without killing yourself? Rather stupid if you ask me. As far as getting fired, yes, Grim Reapers can be fired. Anytime a soul in a Reaper’s care dies before it is supposed to, it is a black mark against the Reaper. Once a Reaper reaches seven black marks, they are fired. Normally, once a soul dies, they are moved on to Judgment and that’s it. However, certain souls have a big or important destiny tied to them, and in those cases, the soul is returned to its body, fully healed, and the memories of all the souls associated with it are modified. In case you couldn’t guess, you fall into the latter category. In the case of special souls like yours, you are only allowed to be revived seven times, and each revive counts as a black mark. Now, your destiny is great indeed, Mr. Potter, but I do not refer to that crock of horse feces that Trelawney told Dumbledore. No, I’m talking about your true destiny. You are destined to end the terror that is Tom Marvolo Riddle, but you are also destined to marry your soulmate, some Granger girl, and have a family before dying of natural causes at the age of 212. But, unfortunately for both of us, you have thus far failed.” The Reaper stopped here, massaging his forehead a few times before taking a bottle of Excedrin from his desk and popping a few. 

Harry gaped at William, jaw dropped. “M-my soulmate is Hermione???”

William tsked and shook his head irritably. “I gave you all that information and all you managed to retain was that Hermione Granger is your soulmate?”

“I heard everything else too,” Harry reassured hastily. “It’s just, if Hermione is my soulmate, then why did I fall in love with Ginny, and she with Ron? Wait, you said that one of my deaths was from an overdose of Amortentia?”

“Your so-called love for Ginevra Weasley is nothing more than the result of Amortentia, and yes, she was too hasty in her first attempt to administer the potion and accidentally overdosed you. Your soulmate’s feelings for Ronald are also due to Amortentia. I must say, however, that you made yourself and, by extension, Hermione as well, a sitting duck for the two youngest Weasleys because you allowed yourself to be influenced and controlled by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Seriously, who needs three middle names? Anyway…as I said, you’re on your last chance, Mr. Potter. If you screw up again, you’re dead for good and off to Purgatory for an indefinite amount of time, and I shall never get a decent job again for allowing Harry Potter to fail.”

William was silent then, and Harry began to gather his thoughts.

“Mr. Spears, you said that Dumbledore influenced and controlled me?”

“Yes I did. Albus Dumbledore has his own idea of what the Greater Good is and, as a result, believes that only he knows what is best for anyone and everyone. I mentioned it earlier, you may recall, but the so-called prophecy that he heard from Trelawney is absolutely fake. While it is your destiny to defeat Voldemort, the prophecy is nonsense. It ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy because Voldemort believed it to be true and acted on it, and Dumbledore believes it true and has molded you after it. He knew that your godfather was innocent yet did nothing to help him, he knew that your aunt and uncle were abusive and did nothing to help, and he has definitely known about Voldemort’s Horcruxes since your second year after you presented him with Tom Riddle’s diary. There are other and more efficient ways of destroying Horcruxes; you don’t have to destroy the container. Certainly, he could have thought of a way to rid you of that Horcrux without killing you? I heartily agree with Severus Snape; Dumbledore was raising you like a pig for the slaughter. While Dumbledore himself is not evil, his beliefs and his stubbornness allow him to do evil things without ever acknowledging how much damage he’s doing.”

Harry tried very hard to dispute what William was telling him, but it soon became apparent to him that there was nothing he could say. The Reaper was absolutely right. 

“I’m sorry to have to dump all of this on you and then rush you, but we must move on now,” said William.

Harry nodded in understanding. “So in summary, don’t trust Dumbledore, Ron and Ginny are potioning me and Hermione, the prophecy’s a lie, and I have to kill Voldemort and marry Hermione?”

“More or less.”

“I have no problem severing ties with Ginny, but I can’t just drop Ron like this.”

“Even knowing what he did to your soulmate?” William questioned, eyebrow raised.

“I think that I can change him. But, I’d have a better opportunity to do so had I known all of this earlier. Hey, how am I supposed to do anything different if you’re just gonna wipe my memory when I leave?”

William offered him a half-smile. “Well, since this is your last shot, we can make some exceptions. For example, you may choose from a range of times to return. I can’t allow you to return to when you were an infant. Too much can happen then that can also keep you from your destiny. I can send you back as far as the beginning of your first year at Hogwarts. Also, I will have to speak to the boss about it, but I wish to send you back with your memories intact this time. After all, it doesn’t do much good for me to tell you all of this just to send you back with no memory of having been told, especially since you’re on your last reset. What do you say, Harry?”

There was no hesitation on the young wizard’s part. “Of course! Yes, I’ll go back and fix all of this! Hmm...I would like to go back to the beginning of my third year. That way, I can save Sirius and get him cleared. I want to try and stop Pettigrew this time, too. Yes, I think the beginning of third year would be best,” Harry decided.

William nodded his head. “Very well. Let me-“he was cut off by a figure with long red hair storming into the office. Harry couldn’t tell if they were a man or a woman.

“Will! That horrid little brat had the nerve to set his dog on me when I went to visit my Bassie!” the figure shrieked. While the voice was high-pitched, Harry thought that the person was male. William groaned in resigned irritation. 

“Grelle, I am in the middle of something very, very important. I don’t have time to listen to your complaining about the Earl Phantomhive and his disgusting butler.”

Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion. Seeing his client’s look, William sighed yet again before explaining, “This pathetic creature is Grelle Sutcliff. She is, most unfortunately, one of my fellow Reapers.”

 _Oh, Grelle is a woman,_ Harry realized at William’s use of female pronouns for the redhead. 

“She has more than a slight obsession with one Sebastian Michaelis, butler to Earl Ciel Phantomhive. Why she tries, I don’t know. Earl Phantomhive does not welcome her and Michaelis has no interest in Grelle, except perhaps in killing her.”

Harry was silent as he processed the information he was given. “That’s…peculiar.”

“Indeed,” William agreed. He then turned to address Grelle again. “If I must be near you, then make yourself useful and go tell Undertaker that I must speak with him immediately.”

The flamboyant Reaper pouted before agreeing and leaving the office.

“Oh yes, there was something else, I almost forgot. May I see your glasses, please?” William asked.

“Sure,” said Harry as he handed them over, curious as to what the Reaper might need them for. To his surprise, William popped the lenses out of the glasses! “Hey! What’re you doing?!”

“Helping you,” the Reaper answered tersely as he opened another drawer on his desk and pulled out two new lenses, which he popped into Harry’s glasses and handed back to him. “Those new lenses will help you detect if there are potions in your food or drink. No one will be able to tell except you. If there are love potions of any sort in your food, the lenses will cause your vision to go pink. If there are compulsion or controlling potions, they will cause your vision to go blue.”

“Thank you,” Harry responded gratefully.

Just then, Grelle returned with another Reaper, this one dressed in a long, baggy black robe and a saggy, ragged black hat. His hair was long, shaggy, and grey, and his eyes were hidden from sight. Harry was slightly creeped out by the Reaper’s long fingernails and smile, and when the man giggled, Harry was even more creeped out.

“Hehe! Hello William, hello Harry Potter. William, Grelle says you needed to see me about something?”

“Yes, sir. By the way, Harry, this is Undertaker, our boss. Sir, I am sending Harry back to his third year to try and do it right this time, but I want to send him back with his memories intact. It does little good to tell him about what he needs to know while he’s here and then wipe his memories and expect him to get it right.”

Undertaker placed a long finger against his chin in thought.

“You make a valid point, my dear William. Very well, then.” Undertaker snapped his fingers, and a scroll came flying into his hand. He opened the scroll and read it over before giggling. “Yes, this is the one. Young Harry, if you will sign this scroll, please. It is a contract saying you understand what William has discussed with you and that you promise not to reveal anything that you’ve learned here to anyone once you return. There may be special circumstances that arise that will allow you to, but not just yet. William will be able to communicate with you once you return, and he will tell you when such circumstances occur. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, Undertaker.”

“Go ahead and sign, then.”

Harry took the proffered quill and quickly signed his name.

“Good luck, Harry Potter,” said Undertaker.

“I’ll be in touch soon, Harry. Take care,” said William.

“How will I-“

Before Harry could finish his question, his vision went black and he had the sensation of falling.


	2. Back to the Past

Chapter 2- Back to the Past

The next thing Harry knew, he was lying on the floor of the Hogwarts Express. The train was motionless, and Harry could see dark clouds and rain from the window. _This must be when I fainted after the Dementor came,_ he realized.

“Harry? Are you alright?” a familiar voice asked.

Harry looked up to see Hermione standing over him, a concerned look on her face.

Overcome with emotion at seeing his dear friend and soulmate, Harry pulled her into a hug before he thought about it.

“H-Harry?” Hermione asked, taken aback, though she did return the hug.

Realizing what he had done, Harry quickly covered, “Are you ok, Hermione? Why did you scream?”

“Scream? I didn’t scream, Harry.”

“I heard a woman screaming. I thought it was you.”

“No, Harry. No one screamed.”

“The dementors can have strange effects on people sometimes,” Remus interjected as he returned to the car. He handed Harry a block of chocolate. “Here, eat this. It will help calm you and dilute the dementor’s effect.” Once the raven-haired boy had complied, Remus added, “If you’ll all excuse me for a moment, I need to speak with the conductor.” Then he turned and left the compartment.

“You gave us a scare there, Harry,” said Ron.

Harry took a deep breath. Despite his desire to change Ron this time around, he was indeed angry that Ron would potion Hermione. _It doesn’t have to be that way this time, though._ “I still don’t understand what happened. I’m just glad that thing’s gone.”

The rest of the trip (which was rather short as they’d already gotten most of the way there when the dementor had attacked) was very quiet for the three teenagers, the only noise being Hedwig hooting and Crookshanks hissing and spitting. When the Hogwarts Express pulled up into the Hogsmeade Station, the trio filed off the train and was approaching the carriages to go up to the castle when they heard a familiar drawling voice snark, “You actually fainted on the train, Potter?”

Harry groaned before turning to face Draco Malfoy. The arrogant blond was standing a short distance away, ever flanked by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Rather than feeling angry like he usually did during an encounter with the Slytherin boy, Harry only felt mildly annoyed. A thought suddenly occurred to him. _Malfoy kinda helped us out last time when he wouldn’t identify us for Bellatrix. I already am trying to change Ron this time; who’s to say I can’t maybe change Malfoy, too?_ With this mature thought in mind, Harry put on his best poker face before answering, “Why Draco, I didn’t know you cared! I’m fine, thanks. It was just lucky that I was in the same compartment as Professor Lupin.”

Malfoy was rather surprised by Potter’s answer; it was certainly not what he was expecting! After trying to think of a good comeback, he finally settled on a curt nod in Harry’s direction before turning and walking away.

“Slimy little git,” Ron grumbled.

“That was brilliant, Harry! He didn’t even know what to say!” said Hermione, beaming.

“All he wants is attention. If I stop giving in to what he wants, then he’ll eventually stop doing it,” Harry replied.

“That’s very mature of you!”

The mood greatly improved, the trio began chatting again as they made their way to a carriage and climbed in.

“Do you mind if I ride with you?” a voice asked.

They turned to see Neville Longbottom standing there.

“Hey Nev! No, not at all. Climb on up!” said Harry.

Upon arriving at the castle, the foursome clambered down from the carriage and began their walk into the castle. Professor McGonagall was standing at the entrance.

“Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, if I could see you both for just a moment, please,” she said.

The friends exchanged puzzled looks before excusing themselves from Ron and Neville and following their Head of House to her office.

“Potter, your matter will be quicker than Miss Granger’s, so if you’ll follow me in first,” the Scottish witch instructed.

Once inside, just as before, Professor McGonagall fussed over him about the Dementor attack, though he was able to reassure her that Professor Lupin had already attended to him before she could try to send for Madame Pomfrey, who would surely insist on attempting to make him spend the night in the Hospital Wing, just as she’d try to in his previous timelines. Then, he stepped back out of the office to let Hermione in, telling his best friend that he’d wait for her. While he waited, Harry thought about how Hermione was receiving the Time Turner at this moment and how much the Time Turner had become a burden to her in the previous timeline. _I need to figure out a plausible story as to how I know she has the Time Turner and convince her to take it easy earlier in the year than last time so she doesn’t get so overwhelmed._ Harry was still thinking of possible scenarios when Hermione and Professor McGonagall emerged from the office. In order to keep from looking suspicious, Harry asked Hermione about her turn with the Transfiguration professor, even though he knew that she wouldn’t tell him. The duo then chatted amicably as they made their way to the Great Hall. Upon entering, they saw Neville and Ron waving them over to the Gryffindor table, where they had seats saved. As soon as they were seated, they caught up with their housemates and looked around the Great Hall. Even though it was their third time being at the start-of-term feast (and Harry’s seventh), it was still a beautiful sight. 

“What do you suppose that Lupin bloke’ll be teaching?” Ron asked.

“ _Professor_ Lupin, Ron,” Hermione corrected, “and he’ll probably be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. I mean, it’s the only position that’s vacant right now, unless Professor Dumbledore let Professor Snape teach this year, in which case Professor Lupin will be teaching us Potions.”

“Don’t even joke like that,” Neville murmured, paling at the thought of Snape teaching Defense.

“Hey, who’s that?” Harry asked, indicating an unfamiliar witch.

Hermione, Ron, and Neville turned to see who Harry was talking about. She was a rather young witch with long, wavy black hair streaked with electric blue. Her robes and hat were blue as well, but a deep midnight blue unlike the bright color in her hair. The witch’s eyes were a dark forest green and, if the happy smile on her face was any indication, she was kind.

“I’ve never seen her before,” Neville commented.

“Me neither,” said Hermione.

“Do you reckon she’s a teacher?” asked Ron.

“Probably, since she’s at the table with the other professors,” said Harry. His eyes fell on Remus, and he had to school his face into one that did not betray familiarity. Hermione followed Harry’s gaze and smiled.

“I like him already, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yeah! He’s brilliant.”

“Snape doesn’t look too happy to see him, though,” said Ron.

The other three looked over to Snape and saw exactly what he was talking about; Snape had a look on his face that could be described as nothing but pure loathing. 

“That’s the face he normally saves for me. I wonder if I should be jealous?” Harry joked, earning laughter from his friends. As Harry looked at Snape, he had a thought. _Snape knows Legilimency; Dumbledore does, too. I better not look either of them directly in the eye. I wonder if the library has books on Occlumency? Hermione may know…_ Just as he contemplated this, Dumbledore rose for his start-of-term speech. 

“Welcome back for another year at Hogwarts! I realize that everyone is full and ready for bed, but I must make some announcements. A friendly reminder to all students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits at all times. Mr. Filch would like for me to remind everyone that Fanged Frisbees are not permitted. A completed list of banned items can be found on Mr. Filch’s office door. Finally, we have 3 new staff members this year. First, our very own Rubeus Hagrid will be replacing Professor Kettleburn as our Care of Magical Creatures teacher.” 

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and basically the entire Gryffindor house whooped and cheered while the other houses clapped politely. Hagrid was misty-eyed and beaming proudly. Once the applause died down, Dumbledore continued, “Our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Remus Lupin.”

There was more polite clapping, and Harry once again had to try very hard to not show any emotion that betrayed his knowledge of just how much the werewolf meant to him. More still, he’d have to remember not to mention that Remus was a werewolf as that was still a secret in this time period. 

“Finally, Professor Babbling has relocated to New Zealand and has therefore retired from her position as our Ancient Runes teacher. Her successor is Professor Emily Tarleton,” Dumbledore concluded. 

There was a third round of applause as the unfamiliar witch Harry had noticed before stood and smiled cheerfully. Once the applause had died down, the headmaster sent them off to bed. As they left the Great Hall, Harry noticed Remus embracing Professor Tarleton. The raven-haired wizard knit his eyebrows together in confusion. _Moony knows her, but just who is Emily Tarleton? Why didn’t I know her before?_

“Harry?”

He turned to see his friends waiting for him.

“Sorry; spaced out for a moment,” he excused. He then did his best to push the Time Turner and Emily Tarleton to the back of his mind for the rest of the walk to Gryffindor Tower so he could talk to his friends and not give away that he was hiding anything. Once he was safely in his own bed, Harry pondered everything that had happened so far. _Alright, so I’m safely back in third year. I need to learn Occlumency so Snape and Dumbledore can’t read my mind and find out about William or my going back in time. I need to try and get a jump on destroying the Horcruxes ahead of time, and I need to protect Hermione and myself from potions. I need to try and change Ron so that things don’t go sour with him in the future. I need to do what I can to help Sirius sooner. And who is Emily Tarleton? …This is going to be a very long year…_


	3. Some Things Old, Some Things New

Chapter 3-Some Things Old, Some Things New

Classes ran basically as they had before, except Harry found Divination even more pointless than he had in his previous third year. This time, when Professor Trelawney informed him that his tea leaves held “the Grim”, Harry laughed. _I wonder what the old bat would say if she knew that the Grim was a man in a suit with a hedge trimmer?_

“My boy, this is no laughing matter!” the woman exclaimed dramatically.

“It is to me. Voldemort has been trying to kill me for 12 years now. What a mind-blowing prediction! In other obvious news, the sky is blue and we’re in a castle.”

Lavender and Parvati, who’d previously been glaring at Hermione, turned their gazes to Harry. Hermione, once she’d gotten over the fact that Harry had spoken up to a teacher, began giggling. Ron, Neville, and Seamus soon joined her. It was a much more light-hearted Harry Potter that entered Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration classroom. Like last time, Professor McGonagall inquired about the previous class and was told about the tea leaves. She covered her mouth to hide the mirthful smile at Harry’s response. Once composed, she said, “Well Mr. Potter, I’m glad you were not rattled. Sybil loves predicting the death of a student every year. If you do happen to die-“

“I’ll have Hermione turn in my homework. She’d never let anything happen to her to prevent doing her work, so it’ll be safe with her,” Harry quipped. 

“Prat!” said Hermione, slapping his shoulder and smiling.

The good mood went to hell after Care of Magical Creatures and the incident with Malfoy and Buckbeak. Harry had thought about intervening now to help Buckbeak, but realized that doing so could jeopardize helping Sirius later on if things went as they had before. Indeed, there was a good chance that Sirius would have to escape again, as Pettigrew was an unpredictable little rat. With this matter settled for the time being, Harry began ruminating over his next quandary: the Time Turner. _I need to find a way to help Hermione. We’ll need the Time Turner for Buckbeak and Sirius if it ends up like last time, but I don’t want her stressed out like she was last time, either…Come to think of it, the Time Turner could come in handy for events further in the future, as well. When I do talk to Hermione, I need to convince her to stop using it for all these classes but to save it for emergencies._

The year continued to progress as it had before, and Harry grew frustrated.

_I still can’t think of a good reason to give Hermione for knowing about the Time Turner, and I haven’t had any success in trying to catch sight of Sirius! How can I fix anything like this?!_

“Calm yourself, Harry.”

Startled, Harry turned to see William.

“What’re you doing here?! Someone’ll see or hear you!” Harry hissed, looking around the Common Room frantically.

“No they won’t. I’ve frozen time around us so that we can talk,” the Reaper corrected.

“Oh…”

“So, you’re frustrated.”

“Yes! How can I handle the major stuff coming up if I can’t handle finding a dog and explaining knowledge of the Time Turner?” Harry asked.

“Easy; you can’t help these 2 situations. Sirius doesn’t want to be seen, so he won’t be. As for the Time Turner, we can make a small allowance. You may tell your soulmate, and ONLY your soulmate, about your circumstances. You’ll know when the right time to tell her is. Don’t worry too much; you will indeed be able to change much of your future.”

“Oh, ok. I guess I can try and sneak down to the Chamber of Secrets early to get basilisk venom for destroying the Horcruxes.”

“You can, but not yet. Basilisk venom is very dangerous; you’ll need some protective gear and strong potion vials to contain the venom. Also, hold off on destroying them. There are some books in your godfather’s library at Grimmauld Place that can help you.”

“Thank you, William.”

“You’re welcome, Harry. Be seeing you.” With that, the Reaper was gone.

The year continued on still. Like last time, Professor Lupin offered to teach Harry the Patronus charm and Harry, happy to spend time with him again, agreed. It was on his way to one of these lessons that he remembered another puzzle for this year. He was early to a lesson when he heard voices coming from Lupin’s office. One belonged to Lupin himself, but the other belonged to a woman. 

“I can’t believe you! You’ve really abandoned him!” the woman yelled.

“Emily, he’s a murderer and a Death Eater,” Remus answered with a sigh.

 _Emily? Is that Professor Tarleton?_ _She knows Remus, I’m assuming they’re talking about Sirius, and she must have known my father and Pettigrew. Why didn’t I know her before? Why didn’t Sirius or Remus ever talk about her?_

Just then, Emily’s voice sounded a lot closer. Harry realized with a start that she was leaving Professor Lupin’s office and quickly backed away from the door so it wasn’t obvious that he was listening. A moment later, Harry was very glad he’d moved as Professor Tarleton flung the door open and stormed down the hall. Remus came to the doorway and sighed. He started when he saw Harry.

“Oh, Harry! Is it that late already?” He paused before asking, “You didn’t hear-?”

“No, Professor. I just got here. I heard Professor Tarleton yelling, and then she came out. Is she ok?” Harry was curious, wondering if asking Remus questions about the situation might make him start questioning Sirius’s guilt sooner, therefore avoiding a lot of drama later. Unfortunately, Remus wasn’t feeling particularly chatty.

“She’ll be fine. We’ve been friends for years, but it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other. We were just discussing an old friend who…went dark.”

“Like Star Wars?” Harry asked, playing naive.

“How so?”

“It’s a Muggle movie, and Darth Vader, one of the characters, is a good guy who goes dark. He has a happier end as he redeems himself, but dies in the process.”

Remus smiled. “Oh yes, I know Star Wars. Yes, our friend is somewhat like Darth Vader, but there’s no redeeming him, I’m afraid. Now, why don’t we come in for your lesson?”

It was difficult for Harry to pretend that he didn’t know the Patronus charm, and on his 3rd “attempt”, he did it splendidly; the stag erupted from his wand.

“Prongs…!” Remus gasped.

“Sorry?” Harry asked.

Remus didn’t answer right away, but finally settled on, “Memories of another old friend. He’d be more like Luke Skywalker, I think. Well, that was certainly impressive, Harry. Very impressive, indeed!”

Harry smiled proudly. “I’m just glad I have protection from the Dementors.” He paused, and then said, “Professor, I told you that I can hear my mother screaming when the Dementors are close. Thank you for teaching me this spell; I was afraid that I would eventually let a Dementor attack me just so I could hear her.”

Remus hesitated for a moment before approaching Harry and hugging him. “I’m so sorry, Harry.”

“Don’t be, Professor. You haven’t done anything to hurt me.”

Harry ended up staying a while longer to hear Remus tell him stories about his parents. He went to bed happy to have bonded with his pseudo-uncle and longing to have time like that with his godfather. Soon after that, Fred and George (once again) presented him with the Marauder’s Map, which Harry was happy to have back with him. Then came the incident of listening to the conversation about Sirius being his godfather, which Harry had decided to do over again in order to have a cover just in case he let anything slip. He was aching to tell Hermione everything, but he hadn’t found any signs that it was the right time yet. Late one night, Harry could not sleep and was awake pondering when he might be able to tell Hermione and gazing idly at the Map when he saw the dot labeled “Peter Pettigrew” moving through a hallway.

 _I could catch Pettigrew now and end the manhunt for Sirius_ Harry thought. With this thought in mind, Harry grabbed a potion vial large enough to fit Wormtail and the Map before running out after the rat. Unfortunately, just as he was closing in on Wormtail, he heard a most unwelcome voice from behind him.

“Well, well, well, whatever have we here?” It was Professor Snape.

Muttering “mischief managed” to the Map, Harry turned to face Snape. In his haste to catch Wormtail, Harry had forgotten to bring his father’s Invisibility Cloak. “Uh, good evening, Professor,” he greeted nervously.

“Spare me the pleasantries, Potter, and tell me what you are doing wandering the hallways at this hour? Curfew was a long time ago.”

Harry stammered around, at a loss for words, which Snape noticed right away.

“Empty your pockets, Potter.”

Sighing, Harry handed over his wand, the potion vial, and the Map. “Uh, I-I woke up and noticed that Scabbers was missing. I, I wanted to find him and catch him. He’s been acting odd since Hermione got Crookshanks, so I was gonna try and get him into the vial,” Harry invented, praying that it would sound reasonable enough for Snape to not question him any further.

“Pet sitting for Weasley, how touching. However, this old parchment, surely you don’t need it? Or, perhaps it has secret information on it?” Snape withdrew his own wand and tapped the blank Map. “Reveal your secrets!”

As previously, the Map remained blank.

“Show yourself!”

Again, nothing.

“I, Professor Severus Snape, demand that you yield to me!”

Then, to Harry’s horror, the Map began its insults.

**Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.**

**Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.**

**Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.**

**Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slime-ball.**

After Wormtail’s message, Harry looked up at his Potions teacher. Snape’s face was dangerously pale, but as Harry continued to look, he could also see the teenager that was mercilessly bullied in his eyes.

“Professor Snape, I’m sorry!”

Perhaps he was still lost in bad memories, or perhaps he was surprised to get an apology, but in any event, Snape handed Harry his belongings back and said, “Go”. 

Not questioning his good fortune, Harry took his things and quickly returned to Gryffindor Tower, and he stayed awake for some time afterward thinking about it. Meanwhile, in the English Branch of Grim Reaper Dispatch, William was reading Harry’s book (A/N: Yeah, remember in one of the last episodes of the first season of Black Butler when Undertaker picks up Sebastian’s book and edits it?).

“Hmm… an interesting development. Well, let me help you a little further.” William picked another book from the shelf, along with a bookmark and a quill…


	4. The Ignominia Incident

Chapter 4- The Ignominia Incident

Harry was not looking forward to his next Potions class. He wasn’t sure what had caused Professor Snape to let him go last night, but he wasn’t so sure that the Potions Master would be feeling particularly charitable today.   
“Are you ok, Harry?” Neville asked as they made their way down to the dungeon.  
“Tired,” Harry muttered.  
“Nightmare?” asked Hermione.  
“No, just couldn’t sleep. How bout you, Mione? Your eyes are a little puffy.”  
The witch blushed lightly. “Just busy with homework”.  
“Oh, you need to lighten up, Hermione!” said Ron.  
Thankfully, the group had reached Snape’s classroom before the Ron-Hermione Bicker-Fest could begin in earnest. Much to Harry’s relief, Snape regarded him with a neutral expression rather than his usual glower.  
“You will be brewing Ignominia today. Who can tell me what Ignominia is?” Snape asked.  
Unsurprisingly, Hermione raised her hand first. Snape paused for a moment before answering, “Yes, Miss Granger?”  
“Ignominia is a special potion that forces the drinker to admit what he or she is most ashamed of,” Hermione answered.  
To the shock of the entire room, Snape nodded and said, “Excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor. Now then, who can tell me where this is commonly used?”  
Though Hermione raised her hand once again, so did Malfoy.  
“Yes, Mr. Malfoy?”  
“Ignominia is used at St. Mungo’s a lot for mental and emotional healing, especially after trauma or domestic violence.”  
“Also excellent. 10 points to Slytherin. Now, the directions are on the board. Pay very close attention to the directions; this potion is very easy to mess up. Get to work.”  
Neville, who was even more afraid of Snape after the boggart incident, was trembling like a leaf as he attempted to make his Ignominia.  
“Neville, calm down,” Hermione hissed.  
“Do you want to help him, Hermione, and I’ll help Ron?” Harry asked.  
Hermione hesitated for a minute. Had Harry asked her this last year, she’d have never let him. However, Harry had really stepped up to the plate academically this year, and his reasoning made sense. Hermione had noticed Harry’s new studious attitude before, but her own overcrowded schedule was overwhelming her, so she’d forgotten. Making a mental note to make sure that she asked him about it, she agreed. This ended up being a good idea as Hermione’s confidence and patient instructions calmed Neville’s nerves to a point that he could help, especially when it came to understanding the plant parts that were crucial ingredients to the potion. On Harry’s end, it made his potion brewing easier as Ron would take corrections from Harry much better than he did from Hermione. Despite his renewed efforts in class, Harry was still surprised by how perfect the potion turned out. He was not the only one.  
“What’s this? Potter managed to create a perfect potion?” Snape asked as he came around to inspect the students’ work.  
“I helped…” Ron mumbled.  
“I seriously doubt that, Weasley. You may not know this, Potter, but your mother was brilliant at Potions. It would seem that you’ve inherited some of her skill. That, Weasley, is why this potion was a success. 10 points to Gryffindor, Potter. Let’s see… perfection from Granger, as always…and Longbottom, too? Finesse in Herbology does help with this potion. 10 points each for Gryffindor, Granger and Longbottom. Malfoy, Greengrass, 10 points each to Slytherin for, as usual, making a perfect potion…” After Snape had finished making his rounds, he began scanning the room for a student to demonstrate their potion. “Hmm… Potter, come up here with a vial of your potion. I still can’t believe that you and Weasley working on the same potion turned out successfully. Still, as I said, I think you were responsible for the success, so I want you to demonstrate.”  
Harry paled, and an uncomfortable knot formed in the pit of his stomach. It was his turn to tremble as he approached the front of the room.   
“Come now, Potter; it won’t kill you,” Snape chided as Harry reached him.  
Malfoy sniggered, a mirthful smirk on his face. Ron glared at the blond while Hermione and Neville regarded their friend with concern. Snape took out a dropper and extracted a small amount of Ignominia from Harry’s vial. “Put out your tongue. Just a few drops will do it.”  
Swallowing and taking a deep, shuddering breath, Harry obeyed. Once had swallowed the potion, Snape paused for a few minutes before asking him, “Well, Mr. Potter, what is it that you are most ashamed of?”  
“My aunt and uncle,” Harry murmured, trying to be as vague as possible and praying that he’d get a break from Snape again. He wasn’t so lucky this time.  
“Your aunt and uncle? Why are you so ashamed of them?”   
“Because, because…” Harry tried very hard to resist the potion’s urging.  
“Out with it, Potter. You’ll end up in the Hospital Wing if you fight it too hard,” Snape warned.  
Lowering his gaze to the floor, Harry said, “Because they don’t love me. They beat me, they starve me, and they allow others to treat me badly. The first time anyone ever showed me affection was when Hermione hugged me before I faced Quirrell at the end of first year. I slept in a cupboard under the stairs until my first Hogwarts letter arrived, and I only got to have a room then because the letters were addressed to ‘Mr. H. Potter, the Cupboard Under the Stairs’ and my uncle was scared. I’d never had a birthday cake or a Christmas present until I came to Hogwarts. I had a burst of accidental magic when I was 10, and my uncle didn’t feed me for a week. My aunt smacked my head with a frying pan for saying the word ‘magic’ in front of my cousin. They treat me like a slave, and my uncle beats me whenever he wants to.” By this point, tears were unwittingly dripping down the young wizard’s face. Snape’s sallow skin paled to a deathly white, and his eyes held a look that promised murder. Hermione, Lavender, Parvati, and (to Harry’s later surprise) Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass were crying. Ron’s expression suggested that he’d been told he had to live in the Forbidden Forest with Aragog. Neville was a sickly shade of green and Seamus had balled his hands into shaky fists. Also to Harry’s surprise, Malfoy looked absolutely horrified, the same way he’d looked in first year when they’d heard about the troll.   
“Everyone except Potter, get your things and get out of my classroom! And keep your mouths shut!” Snape barked. Everyone scrambled to obey, with Hermione, the last one out, giving her beloved friend a last teary glance before following Ron and Neville out of the dungeon. Snape then turned to Harry, who was now sobbing in earnest with a beet-red face. “Potter.”  
Harry didn’t answer him.  
“Potter. No, Harry. Harry, I am so sorry…”  
Startled by the apology, Harry looked up at the Potions Master. “D-Don’t apologize. It’s n-not your fault,” he responded, pulling his glasses off and wiping furiously at his eyes.  
“The fact that you just had to tell the entire class about this is my fault, and for that I am very sorry. How could any human being treat a child like that?! And why the hell are you living with Petunia?! She’s hated magic since she was a child! She and Lily hadn’t spoken in years when she died!” Snape exploded.  
Harry calmed himself and saw Snape in a much better light. Though he already knew from having viewed the man’s memories in his previous attempt at life, it still was quite an experience to hear Snape speak of his mother so familiarly. Perhaps he’d noticed, as Snape then said, “I don’t know how much you know about your parents, though I know everyone tells you how much you look like them and I’m sure Lupin has told you about your father.” When Harry nodded the affirmative, Snape continued, “I met your mother when we were children. It was I who told her that she was a witch, and she was my very best friend for a long time. I grew to love her, but after I did something awful to her, Lily separated from me and I went on my own way. Now-“Snape was interrupted by the arrival of a house elf.  
“Mr. Snape, sir, Mr. Flitwick, sir, sent Tippy to find out why Harry Potter no come to Charms,” the elf squeaked.  
“Tippy, tell Mr. Flitwick that there’s been an incident and I need Potter for the time being. I’m sure Miss Granger will make sure he gets caught up. As a matter of fact, just a moment.” Snape went over to his desk and got out a parchment and quill. He quickly jotted a note and gave it to Tippy. “Give this to Miss Granger and tell her to show it to any other professors that ask about Potter until he returns.”  
“Yes, Mr. Snape, sir,” Tippy replied, giving a little bow before disappearing with a crack.  
“Now, you said your first Hogwarts letter was addressed to you and “the cupboard under the stairs?” Snape asked, anger creeping back into his tone.  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Why would the Headmaster allow you to live there? Surely your parents had a will bestowing guardianship?”  
“Sir, I uh, I overheard Professor McGonagall saying that Sirius Black is my godfather, but he was the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort. Was he supposed to be my guardian? Who else besides him or Aunt Petunia could take me?” Harry asked, playing naïve about Sirius.  
“Your parents could have appointed anyone to be your guardian. I’m sure that Lupin was listed as a guardian, but due to circumstances, he wouldn’t have wanted to take you. I can’t tell you those circumstances; that is up to him to tell you. As far as Black is concerned, there’s no love lost between us. I hated him and your father and their group of friends, and they hated me. They picked on me and I began to get back at them. I’m telling you this because what you’ve been told about Black being a follower of the Dark Lord is a lie. He was your father’s best friend; he would never have betrayed him. Also,” Snape sighed and took a deep breath before finishing, “I befriended several future Death Eaters, those are the Dark Lord’s followers, while still in school, and I joined them after I left Hogwarts. Black never joined the Death Eaters. However, another of your father’s friends, Peter Pettigrew, was a sniveling coward, and he did join the Dark Lord. The disgusting waste of life boasted about turning on your parents and revealing their location to the Dark Lord.” Snape stopped to give Harry a chance to process all of this information, though he had no way of knowing that Harry already knew most of this.   
“So Sirius is innocent? But why was he convicted? Surely he could prove he wasn’t a Death Eater? And what did happen to Pettigrew? Professor McGonagall said that Sirius blew him to pieces.”  
“Yes, Black is innocent. Now that you mention a conviction, I can’t recall hearing about a trial…He could have tried to prove that he’s not a Death Eater, but there are many who did a good job of convincing the public that they’d been forced into service, and the Wizarding World was in massive chaos during that time. I don’t know that it would have made a difference. I don’t know about what happened to Pettigrew, but I seriously doubt that Black blew him to pieces. Pettigrew always was a slippery little lump; I’m sure he managed to slip away unnoticed. I’ve heard it said that Black was murmuring, ‘He’s at Hogwarts’ in his sleep. Everyone took it to mean that he was referring to you, but I believe that he thinks Pettigrew is at Hogwarts.” Snape sighed. “I’m going to talk to Lupin about how we could find your parents’ will to see who should have guardianship of you. I need to allow you back to class. Harry, I am truly sorry for the way I’ve treated you. I told you earlier that your father picked on me, and I took revenge on him. You’ve been told that you look exactly like your father, except for your eyes. When I first saw you, I saw the face of my tormentor, and I took out my feelings from my childhood on you. I am so sorry.”  
Harry saw the remorse in Snape’s eyes, and he felt himself thinking warmly of the man before him. “Please don’t be sorry. I understand what you’ve told me today. You’ve told me more about my past in this conversation than I’ve known my whole life other than what Professor Lupin has told me. I see how it may not have been entirely accurate, since he was my dad’s good friend. I’m sorry for how much of a hard time I’ve given you since I began here. I’d like to talk to you more about my mother and about the past, if you don’t mind. I also want to ask the Headmaster why he allowed me to live with the Dursleys when apparently I could have lived with people who cared about me!”  
“No, I don’t mind talking to you about anything you’d like. Come see me, or call for Tippy and send a message. You just have to say his name and ask him to come. Harry, I must ask that you not confront the Headmaster. One does not simply tell the Headmaster that he’s wrong; it could end catastrophically. That’s not to say that he’s a bad man, but he’s old, set in his ways, and thinks that everything he’s doing is for the Greater Good. No, we’ll have to be sneaky about this. I’m also going to look into Black’s trial, if there even was one. I better send you off now. Here, let me give you a note. If you hurry, you can still make part of Charms.” Snape quickly wrote Harry a note and handed it to him. The man hesitated for a moment before giving the teen a hug. It wasn’t as awkward as either thought it would have been, but things were different now than they had been before. “We’ll talk,” Snape reassured as he sent Harry on his way.  
“Thank you, sir. I’ll talk to you soon.”  
Meanwhile, in Grim Reaper Dispatch, William smiled as he read the latest chapter of Harry’s life.   
“Well, that turned out better than I expected,” he commented.  
“Oh, are you seeing how your adjustments to Severus Snape’s book are coming along?” Grelle asked slyly as she peered over William’s shoulder.  
“Yes, and please back up. Personal space and all.”  
The redhead, of course, ignored him, but the brunette didn’t appear to truly mind as they both continued reading.


	5. Aftershocks and Explanations

Chapter 5- Aftershocks and Explanations

As Professor Snape had guessed, Harry made it in time for the last 15 minutes of Charms. Professor Flitwick had smiled kindly at Harry and not questioned him about his extreme tardiness, and Hermione showed him what they were working on with the promise to catch him up to speed later. The Boy-Who-Lived hoped and prayed that everyone would respect his privacy or heed Professor Snape’s order/threat of keeping silent on the Ignominia Incident; after all, who in their right mind would want to disobey and therefore piss off Severus Snape? Of course, Harry James Potter was not that lucky.

“What the bloody hell happened back there, mate?” Ron asked as soon as Professor Flitwick dismissed the class and they headed off for Transfiguration.

“Ronald!” Hermione hissed.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Ron. Please just let it go.”

“Oh c’mon, Harry; you can tell us anything! What did Snape want with you for so long, anyway?”

“ **Professor** Snape wanted to talk to me privately about what happened. I already told you that I don’t want to talk about it, Ron. It was very personal and very, very humiliating, and I don’t want to talk about it with anyone anymore.”

“I can’t believe those horrid Muggles! I can see why they have such a bad reputation among our kind sometimes if that’s how a lot of them act,” said Ron.

“Ronald! What a terrible thing to say! Muggles have such a reputation because of the biased purebloods with influence,” said Hermione angrily.

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?”

“Ron, shut up,” said Neville quietly.

“Or what?” he challenged churlishly.

“Or else people will start talking about how the Muggle-hugging Ministry officer’s son is a big-mouthed bigot,” Malfoy drawled as he approached the group from an adjacent corridor.

“Shut up, and leave my dad out of this! Why are you following us, Snake Boy?”

“You wound me with your wit, Weasel,” he remarked dryly. “As for what I’m doing, I’m walking to Transfiguration, unless that’s become a crime.”

“Well, you don’t have to walk with us,” said Ron.

“I don’t want to walk with you, Weasley. I don’t want your dirty hands anywhere near me. Unfortunately, there’s only one way to get to the classroom from here.”

“Why don’t you both shut up?” Hermione growled irritably. To her great surprise, Malfoy did as she requested without a snarky remark. The rest of the walk was in awkward silence, and all five young magic folk were glad to take their seats as Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room. Harry gave an upset sigh as he sat down, and Hermione reached over and gave her friend’s hand a reassuring squeeze. This gesture caused the raven-haired wizard to smile gratefully at his brainy friend as Professor McGonagall began, “Today, we will be transforming…”

Ron attempted to ask Harry once more about the Potions fiasco, but Hermione stomped her foot on his and hissed, “Shut. Up!” in a dangerously low voice, so he begrudgingly said nothing more. The last class for the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry tried to catch Professor Lupin’s eye to see if he’d spoken to Professor Snape. The werewolf saw this and, upon making eye contact with the boy, nodded his head grimly. Walking past Harry’s desk, he muttered, “Meet me here after dinner”. By the time dinner was over, Harry was glad to have an excuse not to return to the Common Room right away; while no one had approached him directly, the teen had heard people all along the Gryffindor table whispering about what had happened and pointing in his direction. Hermione had rolled her eyes disgustedly and muttered, “Like a bloody tabloid, they are!”, and Neville had shaken his head sympathetically. Ron, on the other hand, was sulkingly silent.

_Wonderful…Why do I know that this is going to be like the Triwizard Tournament?_

After dinner, Harry bid his friends good-night, but Hermione insisted on walking him to the classroom.

“I’m here as moral support,” she explained.

“Thanks, Hermione. I really appreciate it.”

The duo walked in companionable silence to Professor Lupin’s classroom. They were surprised to see that Professor Snape was also present. 

“Good evening, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I’ll take my leave now.” He turned to Remus and said, “Do make sure you drink that Monkshood before your chat, Lupin.”

At this, Hermione gave a gasp. Harry was confused until he remembered his very first Potions class at Hogwarts.

**“What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?”**

**“I don’t know, Sir.”**

**“What a pity. Clearly, fame isn’t everything, is it, Mr. Potter? For your information, Mr. Potter,… Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant; it also goes by the name of Aconite.”**

_Oh, geez. Hermione would remember that, wouldn’t she?_

“Monkshood? Isn’t that another name for Wolfsbane?” he asked. 

“You’re a werewolf!” Hermione whispered in shock.

Remus paled. Severus shook his head.

“Really, Lupin? You’re that shocked that the brightest witch of her age and the son of Lily and James figured it out?”

Remus looked almost frightened as his gazed drifted back and forth between Harry and Hermione, but he needn’t have; Harry smiled reassuringly at his father’s dear friend and Hermione reasoned, “Well, you’re evidently taking a potion, so you’re safe. Besides, Professor Dumbledore wouldn’t have hired you if he didn’t believe you trustworthy.”

The werewolf smiled gratefully at the two thirteen-year-olds. “Thank you for your acceptance. This is normally the part where people run away or get angry.”

Meanwhile, Snape had transfigured some of the desks into two loveseats. When the room’s other three occupants looked at him questioningly, he explained, “It would appear that this chat has just become a four-way conversation. This is going to take some time, so we might as well be comfortable.”

“Four-way?” Remus asked, looking at Hermione.

“Hermione is my very best friend, and my trust in her is absolute. I’m fine with her knowing what we’re talking about.”

With that matter settled, everyone sat down, Remus and Severus on one couch and Harry and Hermione on the other. Remus sighed heavily before beginning.

“Now, Severus has told me that something very personal happened in Potions today, but he didn’t give me details.”

“I thought it best for you to tell him, Harry. It’s your story, after all, and I thought you’d like being able to tell Lupin of your own volition. I know that I told you I was going to speak with him, but I thought better of it,” said Severus.

“Thank you, Professor Snape,” said Harry gratefully. The young wizard took a deep breath and, after another reassuring squeeze from Hermione, he told Remus about the incident. The werewolf was beyond livid after hearing Harry’s story, and flecks of gold were visible in the man’s irises, a sign of the wolf within. This detail did not go unnoticed.

“Curb your temper, Lupin,” said Snape.

“How?! I’ve just heard about how my dear friend’s son has been abused by his bitch of an aunt and her brute of a husband for his whole bloody life! What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?! I’m certain that Lily and James did not list Petunia as a guardian; Lily and Petunia hadn’t had any sort of relationship for years, though it wasn’t for lack of trying on Lily’s part.”

“I heard Professor McGonagall saying that Sirius Black is my godfather, but since he’s been in Azkaban, I couldn’t go with him. Professor Snape mentioned that you were probably listed as a guardian but circumstances would prevent you from taking me in. I assume the circumstances were your lycanthropy, though you don’t give yourself enough credit. After all, Mum and Dad wouldn’t have listed you as a guardian if they didn’t think you were capable of caring for me. Who else could have been my guardian?” Harry asked Remus. The man smiled wryly.

“Indeed, your mother and father did list me as a guardian, but I didn’t trust my ability to keep you safe on the nights of the full moon. Also, transformations drain my energy and are painful, so I need time to recuperate. I couldn’t offer you a stable childhood, Harry,” he explained.

“I still don’t think you give yourself enough credit, but I understand, Professor Lupin.”

“Is there a way to find out who else could have taken Harry in?” Hermione asked. Harry glanced over and saw, to his amusement, that Hermione had a quill and journal out and was poised to take notes.

“You were prepared to stay, weren’t you, ‘Mione?” Harry asked with a grin. 

The witch flushed before answering, “Of course! I promised that I would be with you through thick and thin, didn’t I?”

“You did. Thank you, Hermione!”

The girl smiled in response before turning her attention back to the duo of professors on the adjacent couch. “Well?”

Remus grinned at the young lady before answering, “We need to find a copy of James and Lily’s will. That’s where we can see a list of guardianship. Sirius, as your godfather, was the first choice for your guardianship.” He paused and scowled at the thought of his old friend while Hermione busily took notes on what he said. “After him, I believe the next choice was Emily; she was Lily’s best friend, after all. Then-“

“Emily? You mean Professor Tarleton?” Harry asked with surprise. For the first time during the conversation, he was hearing information that was entirely new to him.

“Yes, Emily Tarleton. She and Lily became very close very fast. She was your mother’s first Gryffindor friend and they quickly became like sisters. I think it helped ease the sting of Petunia’s angry rejection,” said Remus. 

Severus nodded his agreement with this sentiment as the werewolf continued, “Well, even though it took Lily awhile to warm up to us, Emily found Sirius and James rather funny and spent some time with us as well, usually if Lily was catching up with Severus. Well, until Lily decided to give James a chance and starting putting up with the Marauders. Emily was particularly fond of Sirius, and he was of her, as well.”

“I thought you guys had some sort of history since she was arguing with you that night I came for my Patronus lesson, but I had no idea just how long a history it was. Now that you mention it, she did seem to feel rather strongly about Sirius,” said Harry.

“Yes, James seemed to think that Emily had a crush on Sirius, though she denied it and Sirius laughed it off. Unfortunately, it appears as though she is allowing a schoolgirl crush to cloud her judgment,” Remus commented.

“Cloud her judgment?” Hermione asked.

“Emily believes Sirius to be innocent. I’ve tried to talk to her about it, but she won’t budge from her position.”

“Professor Lupin, I think Sirius is innocent, too. I saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder’s Map-“

“You know about the Marauder’s Map?!” Remus interrupted, shocked.

“Yes. Um, Fred and George gave it to me earlier in the year. Anyway, I saw Peter Pettigrew on the map while I was chasing Scabbers, Ron’s rat. I never saw him, but I saw his name on the map,” said Harry.

“Harry, Sirius obliterated Peter Pettigrew when he confronted him on the street about betraying your parents. You must be mistaken,” said Remus.

“Come off it, Lupin; that map wasn’t as secret as you thought it was, not with as loud as James and Black were. They said that the map never lies, and with your brains involved in its creation, I believe that. Also, I know for a fact that Sirius Black is no Death Eater,” said Severus.

“But Professor Snape, how do you know that Sirius Black isn’t a Death Eater? And if he’s not, then why was he in Azkaban for all those years for a crime he didn’t commit?” Hermione asked.

The Potions Master sighed before answering, “I know that Sirius Black is not a Death Eater, Miss Granger, because I was a Death Eater after I graduated from Hogwarts until right before the Dark Lord’s downfall. Sirius Black was not a member, and he never would have been. Black was far too loyal to James Potter to betray him. I hated James Potter and his friends when I was a student at Hogwarts. They picked on me mercilessly, but I was no better; I retaliated. In all honesty, I never got over it. I saw the face of my tormentor in Harry when he first stepped into Hogwarts, and I took out my bitterness against his father on him. In doing so, I neglected to see the eyes of my dearest friend and the woman I loved. Lily was my very best friend until I became too entangled with the future Death Eaters and turned on her. She never forgave me for that, not that I blame her. She deserved much better than that. More importantly, however, I neglected to see that Harry is his own person. Lupin spoke of Tarleton’s judgment being clouded by a crush. I must admit that my actions have been of a similar nature; in my bitterness, I allowed a schoolboy grudge to keep me from telling the truth and sparing an innocent man from the hell that is Azkaban. Sirius Black is no Death Eater, but Peter Pettigrew certainly was.”

There was silence as Snape finished his story. Hermione and Remus both looked like they were struggling to process this sudden influx of information, while Harry and Severus waited anxiously for their reactions. Hermione spoke first.

“So Sirius is innocent. What do we do now? Those horrid dementors are all over the school grounds looking for him, and I shudder to think about what will happen to him if they catch him! And what about Peter Pettigrew?”

Before anyone could reply, Remus went white in the face. “Harry, you saw Peter Pettigrew’s name on the Marauder’s Map when you were looking for Mr. Weasley’s rat but never saw Peter himself?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry affirmed.

“Dammit!”

Hermione looked offended at the curse, but before she could make a retort, Severus asked, “What is it?”

Remus sighed, “After my friends found out about my ‘furry little problem’, as James called it, they decided to show their support by becoming Animagi. An Animagus is-“

“A witch or wizard who can transform into an animal at will, like Professor McGonagall,” Hermione answered excitedly. Upon realizing that she’d interrupted, she blushed and mumbled apologizes. Rather than appearing irritated, however, Remus smirked. Hermione’s expression then became pensive.

“Professor Lupin, I’ve seen the Animagus Registry, and I don’t remember seeing James Potter, Sirius Black, or Peter Pettigrew on it.”

“You wouldn’t have found their names, Miss Granger,” said Remus with a lopsided smile. “It was illegal for them to become Animagi at the time that they did, so they didn’t register.”

“Why am I not surprised to hear of more illicit activity from this group?” Snape snarked, causing Harry to chuckle.

“Like I was saying,” Lupin continued, “James, Sirius, and Peter became Animagi so they could spend the nights of the full moon with me. After all, werewolves are not a danger to animals, so it was completely safe. It was probably stupid, but I appreciated it because I had feared losing my friends if they found out about my lycanthropy, but here they were trying to make it easier for me. Harry, I imagine you saw the names on the Marauder’s Map?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Moony, Mr. Prongs, Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Wormtail.”

“Those were the nicknames we gave each other. I was Moony for obvious reasons. My friends got their names from their Animagus forms. James was a stag, Sirius was a dog, and Peter was-“

“A rat!” Harry growled as Hermione gasped in realization.

“So the sniveling coward has been masquerading as Weasley’s pet rat all these years,” Severus summarized.

“Yes, it would seem so,” Remus agreed. He them gave Harry a small, crooked smile. “After your mother and father began dating in our seventh year, she and Emily surprised us all by also becoming Animagi. And yes, Miss Granger,” he interjected as he saw the teenage witch open her mouth to ask, “they also did so illegally.”

Severus shook his head. “I knew that James was a bad influence on her,” he groaned, though he was smiling.

Harry was happy to hear more information that he hadn’t known in his previous attempts at life and asked Lupin curiously, “What were their animal forms?”

Laughing, Remus answered, “Lily was a doe, much to your father’s delight, and we called her Firefawn due to that and her legendary temper. Emily was a mockingbird whom we called Songfeather as she was always humming or singing something to herself.”

Harry took a few minutes to savor this new information before asking with faux innocence, “You said Sirius was a dog?”

“Yes,” Remus confirmed.

“Was he big and black by any chance?”

“Yes, why?” Lupin seemed confused.

“I saw a big black dog the night I ran away from the Dursleys, and I’ve seen one on the grounds at least once. Do you suppose that’s Sirius? Professor Snape, you seemed to think that Sirius would be seeking to protect me?”

“Yes, Harry, I believe so. That probably was Black that you saw. I imagine he’s trying to keep an eye on you. As I said, I think he at least suspected that Pettigrew was at Hogwarts and realizes that you could potentially be in danger. I don’t think that the coward will try anything right now due to the sheer number of people that are around you all the time; he’d have a hard time pulling anything without being seen. However, since Black has escaped from Azkaban, he may get desperate in order to flee from Black. Even an idiot like Pettigrew knows that Sirius Black will rip him apart when he gets ahold of him.”

Remus had gone quiet and murmured, “Sirius was innocent all this time. I should never have doubted him…”

“Don’t, Remus. You had no way of knowing that he was innocent. If anyone’s to blame for his unfair incarceration, it’s me for not telling Dumbledore that Black was not a Death Eater,” said Severus. He paused before his eyes widened in a sudden realization, “I told him that Pettigrew was a Death Eater when I defected.”

Remus gasped, “You did?!”

“Yes. Why didn’t he do anything about it?”

“It goes beyond that, Severus; Dumbledore is the one who was to perform the Fidelius Charm for Lily and James, and he would have known that Peter was the Secret Keeper!”

“So Dumbledore has known all this time that Sirius is innocent. He knew that Pettigrew was a Death Eater but did not protect my parents from him. He let everyone think that Sirius was responsible for their deaths and allowed me to go live with the Dursleys who were apparently known for being magic haters when I could have lived a happy life with my godfather where I wouldn’t be punished for having magic. Hell, had he protected my parents from Pettigrew, they’d still be alive right now and Sirius wouldn’t be in a position to take blame for anything!” Harry summarized with a dark, cold anger in his tone. _Why does Dumbledore keep manipulating events in my life? What possible benefit did he see in allowing my parents to be murdered and separating me from a godfather who loves me by placing me with an aunt that doesn’t? Does he really believe in that prophecy so much that he sacrificed my parents, too?_

“Professors, why would the Headmaster allow all of this to happen?” Hermione asked, her brown eyes glassy with unshed tears at the injustices against her best friend.

“I don’t know, Miss Granger. I wish I had answers for you,” said Remus with a sigh. Squaring his shoulders, he said, “Well, I must go fetch Emily and tell her what’s going on.”

“Hold on, Lupin. You know as well as I do that we have to be smart about this. If you believe you can tell Tarleton about this without her running her mouth, then go ahead. However, the less that Pettigrew and Dumbledore know about this conversation and everything that’s come from it, the better. We’re going to have to be cunning,” said Severus.

The foursome hashed out their plans for some time before the two professors dismissed the teens back to Gryffindor Tower in time for curfew.

“After all,” Snape reasoned, “if we send you back late, it will look very suspicious.”

Severus and Remus had sworn the two to absolute secrecy, especially with Ron. Harry, knowing everything from his previous run through life, had no problem with that. As they were walking back to Gryffindor Tower, however, Hermione asked him, “Harry, you agreed pretty quickly to not telling Ron any of this. I know how Ron can be, and I understand with him not knowing that his rat is a Death Eater, but I just don’t get it when you’re usually so quick to make sure Ron knows what’s going on, too.”

 _Well William, I’d say that this is as good a reason as any to tell Hermione about what’s going on_ Harry thought to himself. To his shock, he heard the Reaper’s voice in his head!

_I agree, Harry. Go ahead and tell your soulmate about your knowledge of your previous life attempt. Remember, though, that she cannot tell anyone else!_

_I remember_ Harry reassured.

-Brief Cutaway to Grim Reaper Dispatch, London Branch-

“Oooooh!!! Who knew that we could use a mortal’s life book for communication?” Grelle asked as she watched William write in Harry’s book. 

“It’s for emergencies only, Sutcliff,” William answered curtly as he looked over his handiwork before nodding his head in satisfaction and placing it back on the shelf. “Now be silent and let me see how this goes.”

-Back at Hogwarts-

“Hermione, it’s a very, very long story. Let’s go back to the Tower now so it doesn’t look suspicious. I’m going to get the Map and my father’s cloak. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the girl’s dorm stairs at half past midnight. I know a place we can go to talk. However, you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone what I tell you,” said Harry.

“I promise, Harry. Whatever it is, I won’t tell anyone,” she answered.

By this point, the two had made it to Gryffindor Tower. They went about their normal routine of making sure their homework was done to their satisfaction and put away for the morning before going to “bed” and awaiting 12:30.


	6. Telling Hermione, Part 1

Chapter 6-Telling Hermione, Part 1

Harry stood at the bottom of the staircase leading to the girls’ dormitory under his father’s Invisibility Cloak with anxiety coursing through his veins. He was terrified of Hermione’s reaction to his story. 

_She’s gonna think I went crazy and she’s never gonna talk to me again and this is gonna be terrible and-_

“Harry?”

Hermione was standing there with a look of concern in her chocolate eyes. Harry took a deep breath before answering her.

“Er, sorry, Hermione. I’m just uneasy talking to you about this. It’s a really long story and it’s gonna sound so crazy.”

“Relax, Harry. Whatever it is, I’m here. I promise!”

His curly-haired friend’s gentle smile of reassurance helped settle his nerves somewhat, but his heart was still hammering away with anxiety. By the time the two had donned the Cloak and made their way to the seventh floor corridor, Harry felt like his heart might just explode out of his chest. Hermione was eying the wall they’d stopped at with confusion.

“Harry? There’s nothing here.”

“Hang on; just a minute,” Harry answered, stepping out from under the Cloak and pacing in front of the corridor wall.

_I need a comfortable, secret place to tell Hermione about our destinies…_

After three paces, an ornate mahogany door materialized in the middle of the wall. 

“C’mon, Hermione; come in here.”

Surprised by the door’s sudden appearance and Harry’s lack of a reaction, the young witch followed her best friend through the doorway. The inside of the room looked exactly like the Gryffindor common room but with only one loveseat, which was very velvety and, as the duo found out when they sat down, quite comfortable. Directly in front of the loveseat was a large table with a Pensieve sitting on top of it.

“Well, that will sure come in handy,” Harry commented upon seeing it.

“What is that?” the teenaged witch asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

“It’s called a Pensieve. It allows whoever’s using it to share a memory with someone else, kinda like how Tom Riddle showed me his memory of framing Hagrid for Myrtle’s death through his diary,” Harry explained.

“Whoa! But how will that come in handy?” Hermione asked.

“You’ll see,” Harry answered grimly as they sat down. Harry took a deep breath before he began. “Hermione, what I’m about to tell you sounds completely crazy, but it’s true.”

“Harry, after everything we just learned from Professor Snape and Professor Lupin, I’m sure nothing you could tell me could sound any crazier than that,” said Hermione with a gentle smile.

“I hope you still feel that way after this…”

“Go on then, Harry. Tell me your story,” Hermione coaxed.

“Alright. Well, I guess the best place for me to start is at the beginning. Hermione, I’ve lived life six times before this. I’ve lived up to age 17 but have been killed six times along the way.” Harry paused here to see his bushy-haired friend’s reaction. Hermione’s chocolate eyes were as wide as saucers and her jaw was slack.

“What?! Harry, that’s impossible; no one can go back in time!”

“You go back in time several times a day to take more classes than are possible without time travel. I know you’re using a Time Turner that Professor McGonagall gave you right before the Start of Term Feast.”

Hermione’s jaw completely dropped. “How do you know about that?!”

“The first time I lived through third year, you ended up telling me about the Time Turner because we had to use it to save Buckbeak from being executed and Sirius from being Kissed by the Dementors by helping them escape together. You had to give it back to Professor McGonagall after that. Using the Time Turner really wore you down, Hermione, and I don’t want to see it happen to you again. That’s not to say that using it sometimes isn’t good. It would have come in handy many times afterwards; we could have saved a lot of lives and stopped a lot of terrible things from happening.” Harry proceeded to give Hermione a brief recap of the events of their fourth through seventh years. “Anyway, you were asking me about why I was so quick to agree to keep Ron in the dark about everything about Sirius and Pettigrew. In my previous lives, there were many times where Ron’s petty jealousy and impossible temper caused a lot of problems for us, the last incident being him abandoning us in the middle of the forest because he didn’t feel like hunting Horcruxes; he wanted to go back home to his mother.”

Hermione sighed. “This sounds so impossible Harry, but I believe you.” She gave a half-hearted giggle. “After all, you’re not best friends with Harry Potter without experiencing a lot of impossible things.”

  
“Thanks Hermione. I wish that was all there was to the story, but there’s more.”

_I really don’t want to tell her the part about us being soulmates. This is going to be really awkward._

William’s voice answered in his head, _You don’t have to tell her that you’re soulmates yet if you don’t want to. Tell her that you’re not allowed to reveal your soulmate’s identity until you’re ready to tell her._

_Brilliant! Thank you, William._

_Of course, Harry._

~Meanwhile, at the English Branch of Grim Reaper Dispatch~

“Oh, William, naughty boy, making him lie~” Grelle cooed. William “tsk”ed in annoyance. 

“Why are you still here bothering me, Sutcliff? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Not really, no. Undertaker forbade me from visiting Bassie for the next month because the little brat complained the last time they met, so I’m here to spend time with you! By the way, you’ve made him telling her she’s his soulmate more romantic by making the soulmate’s identity such a secret. I knew you had an amorous streak in you, Will!”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as an insult or a compliment, but thank you, in any event,” William replied. “Now be quiet and let me see what’s going on, or I’ll kick you out of my office.”

“Yes, sir!” Grelle saluted, giving the stoic Reaper her trademark shark-like grin.

~Back to Hogwarts, Room of Requirement~

“More? What else is there?” Hermione asked.

“Well, after my sixth death, I got to meet William, the Grim Reaper assigned to me. He was rather angry that I’d died so many times already because I kept failing to fulfill my destiny. According to William, I’m supposed to defeat Voldemort, marry my soulmate, and live to be 212. The catch is, if I die one more time without fulfilling my destiny, I go to Purgatory for an unknown amount of time and William gets fired.”

“Really?! Oh my God! Did he give you any help for Voldemort or his Horcruxes? Do you know who your soulmate is? Purgatory? Grim Reapers can get fired?” Hermione questioned.

“No, he didn’t offer suggestions for Voldemort, but I know how to handle him. As far as the soulmate goes, I know who she is, but I’m not allowed to tell anyone who she is until I tell her she’s my soulmate. Apparently there’s a ‘right time’ for telling her. Yeah, Purgatory, so I really don’t want to die prematurely again. And yes, William can get fired.”

The two teens were quiet for a few minutes before Hermione spoke up.

“Well Harry, it’s time to get a strategy about where to go from here. Now that I know about your destiny, you are really stuck with me. I’m going to do whatever it takes to help you take Voldemort down and get your girl. I imagine there’s a lot you’d like to change, like making sure Sirius doesn’t die.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh as the Pensieve banished itself to a cabinet on the other side of the room and a large roll of parchment with a quill and ink set materialized on the table. “You know me better than anyone else does, Hermione. Yes, I want to save Sirius. I want to save Cedric, and Remus, and Tonks, and Fred, and Professor Snape, and Dobby, and, well, anyone else who was killed, really. I’d also like to change Ron and Draco. Ron has been such a prat because of his pettiness and jealousy, and Draco didn’t stand a chance with his father and his family’s association with Voldemort.”

Hermione shook her head fondly. “Always a hero, Harry. Well, we have a lot of work to do. We need to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. We need to figure out how we can help Ron and Mal-Draco. We also need to recall the circumstances surrounding each death and stop them from occurring.”

“What the Horcruxes are is easy, and remembering the locations. Getting to them and destroying them is what’s hard.”

“Well,” Hermione began, picking up the quill and pulling the first roll of parchment closer to her, “let’s get started. What are all the Horcruxes? You said there were seven?”

“Yes, although one was already destroyed,” Harry reminded her.

“Oh, yes. Tom Riddle’s diary,” Hermione recalled as she wrote “DIARY-DESTROYED” on the parchment.

“The other one’s were Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, Ravenclaw’s diadem, Slytherin’s ring, Voldemort’s snake Nagini, and me. Well, my scar, more specifically.”

Hermione shuddered. “I still can’t believe Voldemort made you into a Horcrux, intentionally or not.” Her brown eyes became glassy. “How do we rid you of the Horcrux without killing you?”

“William said that there were books on ways to destroy Horcruxes in the Black library at Grimmauld Place, so for now we’ll have to find a way to collect some of the Horcruxes. We were using Basilisk venom before, but that also destroys the object. Of course, I don’t much care about Nagini, but I don’t want to die, and it’s a shame to destroy some of the Founder’s possessions.”

Hermione sniffled and took a deep breath to compose herself. “Ok then. Where were the Horcruxes?”

“Slytherin’s ring was inside the Gaunt family home, Hufflepuff’s cup is in Bellatrix LeStrange’s vault in Gringott’s, my scar, Nagini is with Voldemort, Slytherin’s locket should be with Kreacher right now, and the diadem was actually in this room.”

As Harry finished this statement, he got an idea. He stood up and paced around the room saying, “I need Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem and a safe way to store a Horcrux.” After the third repetition of this statement, another table appeared next to the one Hermione was using, this time bearing a wooden box with a padlock, the key being already inside the lock. At the other end of the room, a mannequin head appeared on top of the fireplace wearing a familiar silver tiara. Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

“Is that the diadem?” the witch asked, awe in her voice.

“Yes. I can’t believe that worked…” the wizard responded, blinking rapidly. 

Hermione turned to the box, unlocking the padlock and lifting the lid. “Harry! The box is lined with dragon hide, and it looks like there are Runes carved inside the lid.”

“Great! What do the Runes say?”

“Um…I’m actually not sure,” the brunette admitted, cheeks pink in embarrassment. “Two of them look similar to ones that I’ve seen in class, but these appear to be very complex. I wonder if Professor Tarleton would know what they are?”

Before Harry could give his opinion, Hermione frowned and asked, “Harry, you never mentioned Professor Tarleton when you told me about your previous lives, but Professor Lupin said that she was listed as a guardian and that she was one of your mother’s best friends. Why is that?

“Professor Tarleton is new to me; I never knew an Emily Tarleton in my previous attempts at life, nor did anybody else. Sirius and Moony never mentioned her at all. I don’t know what’s different about this time, but whatever the reason, she’s here now, and her connection to my mother tells me that she’ll probably play an important role moving forward. I’ll have to ask William sometime.”

“You can communicate with your Reaper?” Hermione asked with amazement.

“Sometimes,” answered Harry.

There was comfortable silence for a few minutes before Hermione pulled the Horcrux list back in front of her and wrote CONTAINED next to DIADEM. “I’ll try to find out what the Runes mean on my own, but if I can’t figure it out, I’ll ask Professor Tarleton what they mean. I would imagine they’re probably protective Runes or Runes meant to contain Dark magic since the room provided it when you asked about the Horcrux, but it would be best to know exactly what we’re dealing with. As far as getting rid of the Horcruxes, we are waiting until we have access to the Black family library at Grimmauld Place?”

“Yes,” Harry agreed.

“Excellent! Now, onto the next order of business,” Hermione continued, rolling up the Horcrux list and pulling another roll of parchment towards her. “Let’s write down the people we’re trying to prevent dying this time around and the manner in which they died before so we can avoid it this time.”

“Perhaps we should go as chronologically as possible?” Harry suggested.

“Yes, that’s a great idea!” Hermione complimented with a smile.

Harry grinned at the compliment before sobering and beginning, “the first to die that I want to save is Cedric. He was murdered by Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament at the end of fourth year after we both grabbed the Portkey disguised as the Triwizard Cup.”

Hermione wrote CEDRIC DIGGORY, FOURTH YEAR, MURDERED (TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT) at the top of her list. “The simple solution would be to ensure that Cedric doesn’t touch the Portkey,” said she.

“Basically,” Harry agreed. “I’d like to avoid the whole Triwizard nonsense, but just in case Pettigrew escapes this year, although I sincerely hope not, I want a contingency plan in place to make sure I can stop him sooner and get Sirius cleared without him having to be confined to a house that he hates and then killed.”

Hermione nodded her head in agreement as she wrote down their solution to preventing Cedric’s murder. “Speaking of Sirius, he’s next, isn’t he?” she asked in a somber tone.

Harry merely nodded as his hellish memories of his godfather’s death came to the forefront of his mind. “He was killed when he fell into the Veil in the Ministry’s Department of Mysteries during his battle with Bellatrix LeStrange.”

“Well, since we know that Sirius won’t be in danger, we won’t have any reason to be at the Department of Mysteries. Also, William told you that there’s no truth to the prophecy Voldemort wanted you to find, so there’s even more reason to avoid the Ministry of Magic on that day. We just need a conceivable reason to doubt the validity of your vision when it happens without raising suspicion that we know what’s going to happen,” said Hermione as she wrote SIRIUS BLACK, FIFTH YEAR, DEATH VEIL underneath Cedric’s information. 

Harry thought this over for a few minutes before he got another idea. “Sirius gave me a hand mirror at the beginning of fifth year so we could communicate while I was at school, but I’d completely forgotten about it until after Sirius died. Maybe I can just use the mirror to talk to Sirius after Voldemort plants the vision in my head.”

“Oh, splendid!” said Hermione, writing these details down.

The two friends spent quite some time going over the rest of the people they wanted to save and how they would accomplish this feat. 

“I’d love to do more tonight, but it’s already so late. We need to call it a night,” said Hermione as she stood and began collecting the lists they’d made.

“You’re right as always, Hermione,” Harry replied, stifling a yawn.

“Will everything be safe here if we leave it?” Hermione asked as she placed the lists in a drawer that materialized in the table holding the box for the diadem. 

“Yes,” Harry reassured as he Banished the diadem to the box.

“Good! The last thing we need is somebody coming across the Horcrux or our plans!”

Once the twosome had everything where they wanted it in the room, they donned the Invisibility Cloak once more and scampered back to their dorms, tiredly bidding each other good-night before they made their way up their respective staircases. Both young Magicals were asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

~Grim Reaper Dispatch, English Branch~

“They are clever little things, aren’t they?” Grelle commented.

“Yes, indeed they are. With them working together, I believe that Harry Potter will achieve his destiny,” William concurred.

“I hope! Oh, I can’t wait for them to get together! I can already imagine how cute their children will be!” said Grelle as she began to fangirl over Harry and Hermione. 

William shook his head at his colleague’s antics, but he couldn’t help but also be anticipatory of their upcoming relationship. But of course, William wouldn’t dare ever admit this to Grelle. This was a detail that Grelle just didn’t need to add to her arsenal of things to gush about. 


	7. Burying the Hatchet

Chapter 7-Burying the Hatchet

While Harry and Hermione were busy sneaking off to the Room of Requirements, Severus and Remus were on a mission of their own. 

“Are you quite sure that Tarleton will be able to contain herself and keep quite on all of this, Remus?” Severus asked as the two men made their way to Emily Tarleton’s office.

“Oh, she’ll be furious when we tell her, but once we explain everything, she will cooperate. She loved Lily like the sister she never had and would do anything to protect her son. I think that, in a way, Emily is upset with herself for not being here when Lily and James died and everything happened with Sirius, although there is nothing she could have done,” said Remus.

Severus sighed. “She was doing what she had to do. I’m sure Lily wouldn’t have blamed her for anything. If any of us are to blame, it’s me for following along with the Death Eaters and letting my childhood grudges against James and his friends stop me from doing what was right.”

“You had no way of stopping what was going on, Severus. I have often felt guilty for being so full of self-pity because of my lycanthropy and distancing myself from my friends that I wasn’t around more. For a long time, I felt like I had some responsibility in what happened to Lily and James. I’ve just recently been able to see through that. It’s time for you and Emily to do the same. We cannot change the past, but we can prepare for the future (A/N: Lol, if only Remus knew what was going on in the Room of Requirements right now!),” Remus told him firmly. 

“You’re right,” Severus admitted as they arrived at their destination. Both men heaved a sigh before Remus knocked on the wooden door. The raven-haired witch answered a few moments later.

“Remus? What’s going on?” Emily’s gaze then fell on Severus. “What do YOU want?”

“At ease, Emily. Severus and I are here to talk to you about something important. It’s about Harry,” Lupin explained.

“Harry? Is everything ok?” she asked, concern tinting her voice. 

“It’s complicated,” said Severus.

Emily sighed. “Alright. Come in and get comfortable, I guess.”

The two wizards followed the witch into her office and, after transfiguring the chairs into comfortable recliners, sat down on the opposite side of the desk, with Emily following suit on her side of the desk. A quick wave of Emily’s wand produced a steaming teapot and three teacups. Once everyone was settled, she asked, “So what’s going on, and how does it concern Harry? More importantly, if it concerns Harry, why are you here, Snape?”

“Well, Tarleton-“

“Look, we’re all adults here, and we’re all on the same side: Harry’s. I do believe we can be mature and all call each other by our proper names, don’t you?” Remus asked, though the firm expression on his face suggested that he was telling them to behave rather than requesting it.

The Potions professor and Ancient Runes professor looked at each other before sighing once again and agreeing with the Defense professor.

“Ok, Sna-er, Severus, if this concerns Harry, why are you here? You’ve made it clear you don’t care about him at all,” Emily inquired.

“Actually, Emily, I do care about the boy. I was projecting my animosity towards James unfairly onto his son, but I have since apologized and made amends with Harry. Like Remus said, we are all on his side, myself included,” Severus answered.

“This is a sudden development,” Emily commented. “What caused your epiphany?”

“Harry apologized to me on behalf of his father and his friends for their ‘top secret’ map insulting me, which, looking at the boy, was almost like getting an apology from James himself. In further looking at him, I saw Lily in his eyes and thought about how I wanted to make it up to her for all the pain I caused her. Then I realized how much pain I had caused Harry with my pettiness. Then there was the disaster of a class when I had them brew Ignominia…”

“Oh God! What happened??” Emily asked, dreading the response.

“Harry brewed a perfect potion, so I asked him to demonstrate his potion. Do you know what he’s most ashamed of, Emily?” Severus asked gravely.

“No,” she whispered.

“He is most ashamed of the fact that Petunia and her husband abuse him and don’t love him.”

There was a loud crash as Emily’s teacup fell from her grasp and shattered on the floor. “WHAT?! If I ever get my hands on that bitch, I’ll kill her!! Why is Harry even with Petunia?! Why wasn’t I informed? Minerva didn’t have a good answer for either of those when I asked her… Why wasn’t he placed with you, Remus?” Emily exploded, face as red as a Weasley’s hair. 

“Our sentiments exactly, Em. You know very well why Harry wasn’t placed with me; I’m hardly a suitable guardian when I turn into a vicious Dark creature every month. I don’t know why you weren’t informed either, but…” Remus started.

“You and I both know that the Headmaster had everything to do with Harry’s placement, Remus. He seemed to think that Harry should be with Petunia since she’s a blood relative of his, despite the fact that she is a disgusting excuse of a human being who had no love for a sister she’d known her whole life, much less a nephew I’m sure she had no prior contact with,” said Severus.

“The Headmaster, you said?” Emily asked, rising from her seat. “Well, let me go give that old goat a piece of my mind!”

“Calm down, Emily,” Severus warned as Remus also rose and stood between Emily and the door.

“Move, Remus,” the angry witch growled.

“No, Emily. You can’t just go storming in there!” the werewolf countered.

“And why not?!” she snapped.

“Because you’ll make it harder on Harry,” Severus replied firmly.

This response caused Emily to stop her attempts to leave the office. “What? How?”

“Dumbledore follows his own ‘For the Greater Good’ philosophy, meaning he does things with the thought in mind that he is doing what is best for everyone, whether he actually is or not and without consulting anyone else who might know better. The Headmaster also doesn’t care about who or what gets sacrificed along the way, Harry’s happiness being the case here. No, we must be cunning about this and do what we can to help Harry, right under the Headmaster’s crooked nose.”

Emily snickered. “How very Slytherin of you, Sev. I like it!”

Remus smirked and nodded in agreement before sobering and saying, “The first thing we can do is do some research and figure out how to get a copy of the order of guardianship so we can keep Harry from returning to Petunia’s. Which brings me to the next issue we need to talk to you about.”

“Oh God, not another one!” Emily groaned as she took her seat again and fixed her shattered teacup.

“This concerns Sirius,” Remus told her.

The witch’s expression hardened. “If this is another attempt to get me to buy that crock of shite that Sirius is guilty, then-!”

“Sirius is innocent, Emily. We have proof.”

“What?! Why haven’t you told me this yet?”

“We just found out tonight,” Severus told her. 

Emily took a deep breath. “What proof do you have?”

“Peter Pettigrew,” said Severus, scowling at the thought of him.

“Ok, how is Peter proof that Sirius is innocent? He’s dead.”

“No, Peter is alive,” Remus informed her.

“WHAT?!” Emily exclaimed. She glanced balefully at her teacup. “Tea isn’t cutting it…” With another flick of her wand, a bottle of Firewhiskey appeared, a generous amount of which she poured into her cup.

“Yes, Pettigrew is alive. He’s hiding out in his Animagus form,” said Severus.

“Where? And how did you find out?”

“He has been masquerading as a pet rat for Ronald Weasley, a third year Gryffindor, going by the name of Scabbers. Harry saw Peter’s name on the Marauder’s Map when he was looking for ‘Scabbers’ one night.” Remus paused before saying, “Emily, you can’t go flying into Dumbledore’s office when we’ve finished telling you what’s going on.”

Emily’s frown deepened. “Well, I don’t like the sound of that! Alright, go ahead, Remus.”

“Emily, are you aware that Lily and James were being protected by a Fidelius charm?” Severus asked her.

“I know the last time I saw them that they were considering the charm, but I didn’t know that they did decide to use it until Remus told me earlier this year. He said Sirius was the Secret Keeper.”

“No, Sirius was not. Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper. Peter Pettigrew was also a Death Eater," Severus announced gravely.

This had Emily back out of her seat. “He’s pretending to be a third year’s pet? I’ll be right back!”

“No you won’t,” said Remus as he and Severus both grabbed Emily’s arms and let her back to her seat.

“And what’s wrong with me killing that traitorous vermin?” Emily asked icily through gritted teeth.

“Because we need evidence to present to prove that Sirius is innocent, and we can’t do that if Peter is dead,” Remus reasoned.

“What we need is a plan for capturing Peter and finding Sirius before he does something reckless,” said Severus.

Emily took a large gulp of her mostly-Firewhiskey-with-some-tea before asking, “Who else knows about this, besides us and the demented Headmaster? I see has no problem sacrificing Sirius either!”

“No, he doesn’t. Harry knows, of course, and another third year Gryffindor named Hermione Granger knows; she’s Harry’s best friend.”

Emily smiled at the familiar name. “Hermione Granger is one of my students this year. Bloody brilliant, she is! I thoroughly enjoy teaching her. I’m glad Harry has such a wonderful young woman as a friend.” Emily’s smile became an impish grin. “I’m putting 15 Galleons on Hermione being Harry’s girlfriend by fifth year!”

Remus chuckled while Severus said, “I’ll double you for them being together by fourth year.”

“As long as they don’t go to Madame Puddifoot’s…” said Remus with a shudder.

Emily gasped. “Hogsmeade!”

“Er, yes, that is in Hogsmeade,” Remus agreed, confused by her outburst.

“No, Remy! We can get our hands on Peter while the Weasley boy is in Hogsmeade!”

“That’s brilliant!” Remus exclaimed.

“Indeed, but we must have a way of ensuring that he can’t escape, which would be easier if he couldn’t transform,” said Severus. 

“Well, since it’s getting near four in the morning and we have classes soon, let’s retire for the night and get started tomorrow,” said Remus.

Severus and Emily nodded in agreement. As they all stood up to leave, Severus turned to Emily and said, “I trust that you don’t have to be told to keep all of this a secret, even from the Headmaster?”

“Of course not! I’d love to get to know Harry better, but in the interest of keeping what I know a secret from Dumbledore, I’ll keep a distance for now.”

“That would be for the best. If we get our way, you’ll get to spend all the quality time with him that you want starting in the summer,” Remus reminded her.

“Yes, you’re right, Remy.”

With that, the three adults left the office and bid each other good-night as they headed off to their respective rooms.


	8. The Curious Incident of the Rat and the Firebolt

Chapter 8-The Curious Incident of the Rat and the Firebolt

The next morning came with 2 tired Gryffindors shuffling down for breakfast while sleepily pawing at their eyes. Neville frowned deeply at his friends’ states as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table. 

“Are you two ok?” he asked with concern.

Stifling a yawn, Harry replied, “Just tired…” while Hermione nodded in agreement. 

“Nightmares?” the Longbottom heir questioned.

“No; just couldn’t sleep,” Hermione supplied, which was basically true; she and Harry couldn’t sleep while they were in the Room of Requirement trying to undo the shit storm that was Harry’s destiny with interferences from both Voldemort and Dumbledore. 

“I’m sorry. That’s pretty rough,” Neville commented sympathetically. “I imagine everything that happened yesterday probably didn’t make it easier for you either, Harry.”

“No, not at all,” the raven-haired boy agreed. “I’m exhausted, and I feel like I just took a Bludger to the head.”

“Speaking of Quidditch, do you know what you’re going to do about a broom yet, Harry?” Ron asked curiously.

Before Harry could answer that no, he’d been too busy with the Potions disaster the day before to think about replacing the Nimbus that had been destroyed the day before that, Hedwig swooped down in front of him with a long wrapped package.

“Whoa! What’d you have there, Harry?” Seamus asked from a few seats down.

“I’m not sure yet,” Harry answered, though he was more alert now at the familiar package. _With everything going on, I’d forgotten about Sirius sending me a Firebolt!_

Harry quickly unwrapped the package to reveal the beautiful new broom, much to the amazement of everyone at the table. 

“Potter, is that a Firebolt?” Oliver Wood asked as he walked down from his spot further down the Gryffindor table.

“Yeah,” Harry confirmed.

Oliver grinned widely. “With you on a broom like that, there’s no way we won’t win our next match!”

“Who’s it from?” Neville asked curiously.

Harry looked for the card he knew wouldn’t be there before saying, “I don’t know; it doesn’t say.”

Hermione frowned. “Doesn’t that seem suspicious?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Parvati.

“Well, wouldn’t someone who was being so generous as to send Harry a new, expensive broom want to let him know who they were so he could thank them?” Hermione reasoned.

“Oh, Hermione, you worry too much!” Lavender giggled.

Hermione shot the annoying blonde a look before rising from her seat with the excuse of needing to use the ladies’ room. When she returned a few minutes later with Professor McGonagall in tow, Harry was the only person who wasn’t surprised.

“Mr. Potter, Miss Granger says that you’ve received a new broom from an anonymous source?” the Scottish witch questioned.

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry answered.

The Head of Gryffindor House sighed before declaring, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate your broom for now, Potter.” This information brought on a flurry of horrified questions or comments from the House of Lions.

“Professor, you can’t be serious!” exclaimed a gob smacked Oliver.

“I can and I am, Mr. Wood,” she replied. “This broom needs to be stripped down and checked for hexes or dangerous charms that would cause Mr. Potter harm. I am most concerned about not knowing the identity of the person who was generous enough to provide Mr. Potter with a new top-of-the-line broom.”

“Oh, come on! Who would curse a broom and then mail it to Harry?” Ron asked exasperatedly.

“Oh, I don’t know, Ronald,” Hermione began sarcastically. “Maybe Sirius Black or another of Voldemort’s supporters?”

As expected, everyone sans Harry and Hermione flinched at the mention of the Dark wizard’s name. As Ron opened his mouth to retort, Harry spoke up.

“Guys, it’s fine. Hermione’s right; it’s suspicious that someone would send me a broom without telling me who they are, and really, Ron, it’s no secret that Voldemort wants me dead. It would be so easy for one of his cronies to curse a broom and send it to me.”

As he looked around at the group, Ron looked sulky, Professor McGonagall looked surprised but proud, and everyone else looked shocked at Harry’s acceptance of his broom being taken away. It was Hermione’s reaction, however, that stuck with Harry the most. His true best friend’s face went from surprise to relief to teary in seconds. She appeared to hesitate for a minute before she flung herself at him in a bear hug.

“I was so afraid that you were going to be furious with me! I know you need your broom for Quidditch, but I’m so scared that someone’s done something to it and you’ll be hurt or killed!”

Harry hugged her back before cheekily asking, “Or worse, expelled?”

The curly-haired witch laughed as Harry turned her own words back on her. “You prat!”

“I could never be angry with you, Hermione, for caring about my well-being. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” _I am such an idiot! Why didn’t I let her explain herself last time? That makes perfect sense, especially because last time around we didn’t know that Sirius was innocent!_

Hermione gave Harry another big hug before pulling away with a contented smile on her face. Professor McGonagall was also smiling.

“I must say that I’m proud of you, Potter. I expected that you would argue against the confiscation of your broom but am pleased that you are being so mature about the matter. We will be as prompt as possible, but know that your safety comes first.”

“Of course, Professor; I understand,” Harry replied.

“Very well then. I’ll be taking this now and will return it to you as soon as possible,” said Professor McGonagall. 

As their Head of House walked away with the Firebolt, most of the Gryffindors began whispering in a conspiratorial manner, as they normally did. Hermione appeared worried about how her House felt about her but was comforted when Harry squeezed her hand and Neville reassured her, “You did the right thing, Hermione. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.”

“Well, I guess we should head to Divination,” said Harry unenthusiastically as they got up from the table

“Oh! I forgot my essay!” said Neville. “Would you mind waiting?” he asked his friends.

“Sure,” they agreed. While they waited for Neville to return, Hermione looked around before whispering to Harry, “I know that Sirius is innocent, but for some reason, he’s supposed to be the bad guy. I knew that if you used a broom without knowing who gave it to you and something happened to you as a result of someone tampering with the broom that Sirius would be blamed.”

“You’re bloody brilliant as always, Hermione! That’s a great idea!”

Hermione blushed at the praise, but before she had a chance to respond, Neville had returned and the trio made their way up to Professor Trelawney’s classroom. The rest of the morning passed rather peacefully, and Harry had been so caught up in enjoying how smoothly the day was progressing so far that it wasn’t until they were going to Gryffindor Tower to drop off their books before lunch that Harry realized that someone was missing.

“Hey, where’s Ron?” he asked. Neville was just opening his mouth to answer when the portrait swung open to reveal a hysterical Ron Weasley. He was clutching what appeared to be a bed sheet, and when his gaze locked on to Hermione, his face turned redder than his family’s famous hair.

“YOU!” he roared angrily.

“What? What’s wrong with you, Ronald?!” Hermione asked in confusion.

“LOOK!!” Ron bellowed, thrusting the sheet under Hermione’s nose.

The bushy-haired witch inspected the cloth.

“Is that blood?!” she asked in alarm.

“YES! And do you know who’s missing?” the youngest Weasley growled.

“No,” the Granger girl answered.

“Scabbers! He’s nowhere to be found! Guess what else was on the sheet?”

“What?”

In reply, Ron let loose of the sheet with his right hand and brought it up to Hermione’s eye level before opening his hand. In his palm were a few ginger hairs.

“Your little beast murdered him!” Ron accused angrily.

“Ron, Crookshanks didn’t eat Scabbers!” Hermione argued back.

“Yes he did! Why else would there be blood on my sheets, and hair from your cat? Harry, you’ve seen how that demon goes after Scabbers!”

 _I always took your side before, Ron, but I can’t do it anymore. Hermione is always left alone and belittled,_ Harry thought to himself. Aloud, he responded, “Ron, Crookshanks is a cat, and Scabbers is a rat. Cats and rats chase each other; it’s not like Crookshanks targeted him.”

The youngest Weasley boy’s face reddened at the Boy-Who-Lived’s answer. “You’re really going to take Hermione’s side?! That mangy beast hasn’t left Scabbers alone since she got it!”

“All cats chase rats, Ron. Crookshanks isn’t doing anything unusual. Besides, Scabbers wonders off a lot. Are you sure he’s not just roaming around?”

Ron’s answer was to give a shout of rage before storming back to the boy’s dormitory and slamming the door as hard as he could. 

“Oh dear,” Hermione sighed as she sat down in one of the armchairs. 

“Don’t you dare blame yourself, Hermione. Even if Crookshanks did do something to Scabbers, it doesn’t make him a monster. He’s a cat just doing what cats do,” said Harry.

“Harry’s right, Hermione. Besides, Ron loses Scabbers almost as much as I lose Trevor. If he was really concerned that Crookshanks might do something to Scabbers, he should have made sure he secured him so that Crookshanks wouldn’t have access to Scabbers,” Neville added. 

Hermione smiled gratefully at her friends. “Thanks, boys. It really means a lot to me that you’re standing by me. It doesn’t happen too often…”

Harry shook his head. “You better get used to it, Hermione, because we’re going to be standing up for you more often!”

“Yeah! We’re your friends and we’ve got your back!” the Longbottom boy agreed enthusiastically. 

Hermione giggled and stood to hug her friends. “Thank you so much!” Once she’d released them, she cleared her throat and said, “Well, let’s go get lunch before Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

Ron ignored Harry and Hermione at lunch when he finally shuffled down, and when he saw Neville engaged in conversation with the duo, he also ignored him and began making a show of talking to Dean and Seamus instead. His ignoring streak continued through Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions, in which Ron’s surly attitude cost Gryffindor several points for his belligerence towards Professor Snape. Harry was glad to be able to escape from Ron’s wrath once classes ended for the day, and he jumped at the opportunity to stay away from Gryffindor Tower for a while when Hermione suggested going to the library to work on their homework. With Harry’s studiousness and Neville’s growing confidence after Professor Snape stopped bullying him and started being a much more efficient teacher, the two boys finished their homework within two hours. However, Hermione still had a while to go, which didn’t surprise Harry in the least bit. Feeling very sorry for his future soulmate, he asked, “Is there anything that we can do to help you, Hermione?”

“No, not really. I’m working on Arithmancy right now, and I still have to work on Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies,” the Brightest Witch of her age replied tiredly.

“What do you have for Muggle studies? I’ve been raised in a Muggle home for 12 years, so I’m sure I can help you with that,” Harry countered.

“I’m no expert, but Gran’s library is pretty extensive, and I’ve read some of her books about Runes. Since this is a beginner’s class, I’m sure I can at least make it easier for you to finish up quicker,” offered Neville.

Hermione’s eyes shined with tears of gratitude, and she beamed brightly at the two boys. “Thank you!”

Indeed, with Harry and Neville’s help, Hermione’s unruly mountain of homework became a manageable molehill that was done in another 2 hours, just in time to grab some dinner and go to sleep after a long day. As Harry lay in bed that night, he thought about the day’s events.

_So Pettigrew’s done another disappearing act for now, which means that Hagrid will be telling us about the order to execute Buckbeak any day, and shortly after that I’ll get to see Sirius again before it all goes to hell and we have to help him and Buckbeak escape. As much as I’d love to plan to capture Pettigrew and put an end to it now, it’s the only way to save Buckbeak’s life as well. Plus, even though I dread allowing Voldemort to return, I need to let some things still happen in order to ensure that the rest of the Horcruxes end up where they were last time. I have no idea whose murder Riddle used to make Nagini a Horcrux, nor do I know when he entrusted Hufflepuff’s cup to Bellatrix LeStrange. He clearly didn’t tell Lucius Malfoy that the diary was a Horcrux, but Bellatrix is arguably his most devoted follower, so he likely trusts her more. I do intend on capturing Pettigrew on that night though! Sirius is absolutely not going to spend the rest of his life under house arrest in a place he hates because of Peter bloody Pettigrew!_

Harry’s prediction came true four days later when Hedwig dropped off the barely legible note from Hagrid informing them that Buckbeak was sentenced to death. 

“They can’t do that!” Ron protested indignantly. The red-head had begrudgingly began speaking to Harry, Hermione, and Neville again after his continued outbursts in Potions had cost Gryffindor a dear number of points and most of his housemates then started giving him the cold shoulder, though the relationship between Ron and Hermione could only be considered civil, and he had yet to apologize for ranting and raving at Hermione. 

“Yes they can, and they’re going to,” Hermione argued, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. “Poor Hagrid, and poor Buckbeak!”

“The execution is in a week,” said Harry as he read the note over another time. “We need to go see Hagrid on that day.”

“Yes, of course,” Hermione agreed.

“What good will that do?” Ron asked.

“We’re moral support, if nothing else. At least Hagrid won’t feel so alone,” Harry reasoned. Of course, Ron had no idea about the true significance of Buckbeak’s execution date.

Ron nodded his agreement, and the plan was set.

True to their word, in a week’s time, the trio began their trek down to Hagrid’s hut. Like last time, they passed Malfoy and his goons but, to Harry’s great shock, his adversary was not mocking Hagrid. Rather, he looked down at Hagrid’s hut with an unreadable expression before muttering to Crabbe and Goyle, “Let’s get out of here.”

“What do you suppose they’re up to?” Ron asked suspiciously.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen Malfoy so quiet before, especially when he has a chance to brag about having a hand in Hagrid’s misery,” Hermione answered. 

Harry didn’t say anything aloud, but to himself he wondered if his own show of maturity this time around was creating similar feelings in the blond Slytherin. That was all the time he allotted for stray thoughts, wanting to stay focused on his mission of reuniting with his godfather and capturing the traitorous Pettigrew. 

Just as much of the year had gone, the trio’s original visit to Hagrid before Buckbeak’s scheduled execution went the same way, with Hagrid presenting them with a very much alive Scabbers and thanking them for their support before hurrying them out of his home before anyone saw them there. Also like last time, Scabbers bit Ron and tried to escape. Just as Ron grabbed his rat, a loud, snarling growl rose from the hill. The three Gryffindors saw a shaggy black dog staring them down and baring his teeth at them. 

_Sirius!_ Harry rejoiced internally. Just as he’d had to with Remus, Harry forced himself to not show any emotion at seeing his beloved godfather once more, even if he was in his Animagus form at the present moment. 

Hermione shot her raven-haired friend a sideways glance, knowing how emotionally overwhelming it probably was for Harry not to show his joy at seeing Sirius again. Before she could think any further on the matter, the hulking dog lunged at Ron and began trying desparately to reach the rat held tightly in the redhead’s grasp. Determined to keep his prey, Padfoot dragged Ron along by the leg and disappeared under the trunk of the Whomping Willow. Remembering the nightmare that had been trying to get inside the tree last time, Harry quickly pulled Hermione out of the tree’s reach.

“Harry? What’s going on?” Hermione asked in confusion.

“There’s a way to stop the tree’s movements so we can go inside without dodging its attacks,” the young wizard explained. Harry looked the tree’s trunk over a few times before nodding confidently at remembering the secret knot’s location. He pulled out his holly wand and pointed it a large rock lying in the grass. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Using the spell, Harry guided the rock over to just above the knot before releasing the spell, causing the rock to drop on the knot and freeze the Willow’s movements. Hermione was gaping at him. 

“That’s fantastic!” the witch gushed as Harry pocketed his wand and they made their way to the cavernous entrance at the base of the tree’s trunk. 

“It sure comes in handy,” Harry agreed as they stepped down into the hole.


	9. Some Things Never Change

Chapter 9-Some Things Never Change

Harry and Hermione quickly made their way through the opening at the base of the Whomping Willow and began dashing down the tunnel. 

“So what’s the plan once we get in there, Harry?”

“We need to keep Sirius busy until Remus gets here. We have a better shot of capturing Pettigrew this time, but we’ll need Remus to help talk Sirius out of killing Pettigrew,” the raven-haired boy answered.

Hermione nodded in understanding and agreement. “Alright. Let’s go meet Sirius. I know you’re anxious to see him again,” the witch commented.

“Yeah, I am. It’s been hard without him. He was the only real family that I had. I mean, I can’t remember what it was like when my mum and dad were still alive, and the Malfoys would make better family than the Dursleys ever were.”

Sensing her best friend’s strong emotion, Hermione reached out and grasped his hand supportively. “We are going to make sure that Sirius earns his freedom this time, Harry. There isn’t going to be another Department of Mysteries disaster!”

“Thanks, Hermione. You always know exactly what to say to make it better.”

The bushy-haired girl beamed and gave his hand another squeeze as they reached the door to the room they knew held Ron and Sirius. 

“Well, here goes,” Harry muttered as he reached for the door. 

As they had last time, the duo went right to Ron to assess his condition. 

“H-Harry! The dog! Him, he’s the dog!” Ron cried, pointing behind Harry’s back. 

Harry took a deep breath and willed his face to not show recognition as he turned to face his godfather once again. Harry felt a myriad of emotion as his gaze fell on Sirius. He was overcome with joy to be reunited with his godfather, and he felt the sting of tears in his eyes. It also took him aback to see how haunted Sirius looked, how gaunt his face was and just how dirty and worn down the wizard appeared. No, Harry couldn’t wait to get this over with so Sirius could get cleaned up, healed, and fed and begin his life as a free man. 

“Harry, I knew you’d come to save your friend. How like James you are,” Sirius croaked.

“People have told me that I’m a lot like my dad, but that’s not why I came for Ron. He’s my friend and he needed me,” said Harry cautiously. 

“I’m glad you didn’t go get a teacher. That’s going to make this much easier,” Sirius remarked.

“If you’re going to kill Harry, you’ll have to get through us first!” said Ron, attempting to stand but falling onto his butt.

“Ron, no! Your leg looks broken; you’ll just agitate it if you keep trying to stand,” Hermione warned.

“There will be only one murder tonight,” said Sirius.

“There doesn’t need to be any murders tonight,” said Harry.

“You don’t understand,” the prisoner muttered.

“I understand more than you think, Sirius.”

“No. If you truly understood, then you’d know why there must be a death tonight,” the gaunt wizard countered.

“There doesn’t need to be a death tonight, Sirius,” said Hermione, addressing him for the first time. “In time, yes, but not yet. You have to wait.”

“I’ve done my waiting! Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!” Sirius yelled. (A/N: I couldn’t resist; I had to keep this excellent line from the movie! This line copyrights to Warner Bros.)

Before anyone could respond, Remus appeared in the door way. “Hello, Sirius. It’s been a long time, old friend.”

“Friend??” Ron questioned confusedly.

“Remus…!” Sirius gasped. “Please, Remus! You have to understand!”

“I do, Sirius. I understand perfectly,” the sandy-haired man reassured as he closed the distance between them and embraced his brother in all but blood. 

“What the bloody hell is going on here?!” Ron asked, thunderstruck. “Why’re you helping him?!”

“Ron, you need to calm down,” said Hermione.

“Calm down?! Have you gone spare? Lupin is hugging Sirius bloody Black, the man who broke out of Azkaban to kill Harry!!”

“Sirius didn’t come here to kill me, Ron,” said Harry. “He came for someone else.”

“But Harry, remember Trelawney warned you about the Grim? He’s an Animagus who can turn into a bloody Grim!”

“Professor Trelawney is an incompetent old bat, and I believe we’ve already discussed why this Grim nonsense is utter drivel,” said Hermione impatiently with a roll of her eyes.

“YOU discussed it! I never agreed!”

“Now isn’t the time for this,” Harry interrupted. Then, addressing his godfather, he said, “Sirius, you can’t kill him yet.”

“Who? What’s going on?? And why are you talking to the man who betrayed your parents to You-Know-Who?” Ron interjected.

“Ron, Sirius didn’t betray my parents. Sirius is my godfather, and he was my father’s best friend. He would never sell them out to Voldemort,” Harry explained. 

“What?! Then why the bloody hell is he here?”

“I’m here to reduce our number here from six to five,” Sirius growled.

“There are only five of us here!” Ron argued.

“No, there are six of us, Ron,” said Remus patiently.

“Where’s this imaginary sixth person?”

“In your hands, Ron; you’re holding him,” said Hermione.

“Scabbers?! What does my rat have to do with anything?” Ron questioned, flabbergasted.

“He has everything to do with what’s going on right now!” said Sirius.

“Scabbers isn’t really a rat, Ron,” said Harry. “He’s an Animagus, too, by the name of Peter Pettigrew.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Ron scoffed. “Scabbers has been in my family for 12 years!”

“That’s quite a long lifespan for a common garden rat, isn’t it?” Remus questioned.

“But we’ve taken good care of him!” Ron countered. “I mean, he’s missing a toe, but-“

“But that’s more proof that he’s Peter Pettigrew,” Hermione argued. 

“How??”

“All that was left of Pettigrew after the street was blown up that day was a finger,” Harry revealed. “He must have cut off his finger and turned into a rat to escape.”

Ron opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the door opening once again, this time revealing Severus.

“Good God, Remus; I know you were in a hurry, but that’s no excuse to neglect your health. Luckily for you, I was on my way to deliver your Wolfsbane when I saw you all on that map.”

“Snape? What’re you doing here?” asked Sirius.

“Later, Sirius, but know that we are all on the same side,” Remus warned.

“Wolfsbane?!” Ron asked, flabbergasted.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley. Wolfsbane,” said Remus gravely.

“You’re a bloody werewolf?!”

“Don’t be a git, Ron,” said Harry crossly. “Remus hasn’t hurt anyone, and he won’t start now!”

“That depends,” Sirius corrected, “on what we do with the traitor!”

“Where is that rat?” Severus asked as he handed Remus the flask of Wolfsbane. 

“I won’t let you hurt Scabbers!” said Ron, holding the squirming rat tighter.

“Ron, that’s Peter Pettigrew! That’s the one responsible for getting my parents killed!” said Harry.

Turning defiantly to Sirius, Ron asked, “Why does everyone think you’re guilty if that’s true?”

“When Lily and James realized that they were in danger, Dumbledore performed a charm called the Fidelius Charm. James wanted me to be the Secret Keeper, which means that no one would be able to find the Potter family without me telling them the location. James wanted me to do it. However, I thought that we could pull a fast one on Voldemort. See, since James and I were best friends, I was the obvious choice for Secret Keeper. I suggested that we let everyone think that I was the Secret Keeper, but really, Peter was the Secret Keeper. No one would ever suspect that Peter, who always got scared so easily, would be Secret Keeper! Unbeknownst to us, Peter had joined the Death Eaters, and almost as soon as he was made Secret Keeper, he led Voldemort right to the Potters. When I got to the house that night and found Lily and James dead and Harry injured, all I could think about was murdering Peter for what he’d done. Hagrid was going to take Harry to Dumbledore to keep him safe, so I went after Peter. However, even Peter was smart enough to know that I would kill him, so he made a loud ruckus about how _I_ was responsible for the murders. Then, he blew the aforementioned hole in the street and cut off his finger before transforming and disappearing into the hole,” Sirius explained.

Ron thought for a minute before asking, “How do you know that he was Death Eater? What proof do you have?”

“I know for a fact that Pettigrew was a Death Eater, Mr. Weasley,” said Severus, “because I myself was a Death Eater up until the time that the Dark Lord decided to target the Potters. Lily was my childhood best friend, and even though it was my fault that our friendship ended, I couldn’t just let her and her family be killed. I can also say with 100% certainty that Sirius Black was never a Death Eater.”

While Ron stared at his Potions teacher in utter bewilderment, jaw hanging open, Snape turned to Sirius and said, “Now, unless you enjoy roaming the countryside in fear of your life, Black, I suggest that you curb your homicidal urges and let us expose this waste of human life and clear your name.”

It was Sirius’s turn to be shocked. “Th-thank you Sniv-er, Severus! But, why are you helping me?”

“You owe a great deal of gratitude to your godson, actually, because he helped me realize that I was taking my anger towards James out on him, seeing him as an extension of who his father was as a teenager rather than as himself. Along with this, I let a schoolboy grudge keep me from speaking up in your defense prior to just recently, and for that, I am sorry.”

“Thank you! I’m sorry too, for all of the terrible things I did to you when we were in school together. I am especially sorry for nearly getting you killed.” Turning to Remus, he said, “I’m sorry again, Moony, for the position I almost put you in that night.”

While both men reassured the Prisoner of Azkaban that they forgave him, Ron finally found his voice.

“None of this makes any sense!”

“Ron, if you’ll hand Peter to me, we can get started here,” said Remus gently, reaching out his hand.

“You won’t take Scabbers!”

“Ron, that’s Peter Pettigrew,” Hermione reminded him patiently.

Sirius, however, had reached the end of his patience. He reached out and grabbed the squirming rat from the redhead’s grasp before dropping him to the floor and pointing his wand at him.

“Scabbers!!” Ron yelled as Sirius hit the rat with a spell.

Everyone watched as the spell took effect and the rat changed into a pudgy wizard before their eyes. The man, whom Harry recognized as Peter, looked around the room terror-filled eyes before a grimacing smile formed on his face.

“S-S-Sirius…Remus…my old friends…G-good evening, Severus…” Pettigrew’s gaze then fell on Harry.

“Harry…you look so much like father! James was my very best friend-!” Peter didn’t get to finish his sentence as Sirius lunged at him with a snarl.

“You dare speak to Harry?! You dare talk about James in front of him when you’re the reason he’s dead?!”

Pettigrew squeaked in fright and tried to run, but Remus and Severus blocked his way.

“You sold Lily and James out to Voldemort! Admit it!” Remus demanded, wand pointed at Peter’s throat.

“I-I-I didn’t have a choice!” Peter wailed tearfully. “You don’t know what the Dark Lord is capable of! What would you have done?”

“I WOULD’VE DIED!” Sirius bellowed. “I WOULD HAVE LET VOLDEMORT KILL ME BEFORE I WOULD EVER BETRAY MY FRIENDS!”

“You are a pathetic coward,” Severus sneered. “The lives of your friends meant nothing to you so long as you were protected!”

“Y-You’re not so perfect yourself, Snively!” Peter retorted.

“Let’s kill him!” Sirius begged again.

“Wait, Sirius!” requested Harry.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. “When I left to come here, I sent Emily to the Ministry to fetch Minister Fudge and Madame Bones. Let’s turn this worthless lump over to the Ministry.”

“The dementors can have him once the Ministry is through!” Harry growled.

Peter let out a shriek of terror, right as Hermione whipped out her wand.

“Locomotor Mortis!”

Pettigrew’s legs slapped together, rendering him unable to walk. Then, Severus conjured ropes to tie around his hands while Remus bandaged up Ron’s leg.

“I’m no Madame Pomfrey, but this will do until we can get you to the Hospital Wing.”

The group made their way out of the Shrieking Shack and through the narrow tunnel ways. As they walked, Sirius turned to Harry. 

“I don’t know if you know this or not, Harry, but your parents named me your godfather. I don’t know where you’re living right now, but if you wanted to, once this is sorted out, you could come live with me,” he offered. “Of course, if you want to stay where you are…”

“Sirius, I’ve been with Aunt Petunia for 12 years,” Harry explained. “Of course I want to come live with you!”

“Petunia?! Lily’s sister?!” Sirius exclaimed in disbelief.

“That, Sirius, is a long story that will be explained later,” Remus promised.

As the group emerged from the base of the Whomping Willow, they could see the figures of two women standing nearby. The two began to approach, allowing the group to identify them as Emily and Madame Bones. Before words could be exchanged, the clouds rolled back, exposing the full moon. Remus stopped dead in his tracks, letting out a groan as his body began to shift to accommodate the wolf inside.

“Oh no! Is he safe?” Emily asked fearfully.

“Yes,” Severus answered. “I took a flask full of Wolfsbane with me when I came.”

Ron, frightened by the transformation, backed up, but stumbled and fell with his broken leg. Unfortunately, he knocked into Pettigrew, causing him to fall as well.

“My God, that IS Peter Pettigrew!” Amelia gasped as Hermione doubled back to help Ron back to his feet.

“Remus, are you ok?” Emily asked.

Everyone turned to see the wolf standing in the grass where Remus had been a moment before. The wolf gave a short bark of confirmation before stiffening and snarling. The group followed his line of sight and saw exactly when had Remus on edge! In the confusion, Pettigrew had inched forward and grabbed Ron’s dropped wand from the grass. In an instant, he had pointed the wand at himself and was transforming into Wormtail.

“NO!” Harry bellowed.

As Wormtail darted through the trees into the forest, Moony ran after him with Padfoot not far behind him.

“So it’s all true,” said Amelia in dazed amazement.

“We have to go after them!” Harry insisted, turning to follow the animals. However, Moony and Padfoot were running back towards them. Padfoot shifted back into Sirius, exclaiming, “The Dementors are coming this way!”

Indeed, a moment later, dozens of Dementors began swooping down on the unprepared group. Despite everyone’s best efforts, they were simply incapable of fighting off that many dementors, and one by one, their worlds went dark.

Harry awoke to the sound of arguing. Sitting up in his hospital cot and sliding his glasses on, he saw that the voices belonged to Cornelius Fudge and Emily. The young wizard’s heart sank when a quick scan of the room let him know that Sirius was absent. _Back in time it is, then!_

“Sirius Black at Hogwarts! And with three students! This is outrageous! We’re bloody lucky that he didn’t murder them!” Fudge thundered.

“Minister, as I’ve already told you,” said Emily crisply, “Sirius is innocent! Instead of locking him back up, we should be searching for Peter!”

“Miss Tarleton, with all due respect, it is well known that you are Black’s friend! You’d say anything to protect him!”

“But it’s true! My rat was Pettigrew!” Ron argued.

“The boy’s been Confunded,” Fudge opined.

“No he’s not!” Emily shot back, with Remus growling in agreement.

“Everyone in this room will tell you the same thing: Sirius is innocent, and Pettigrew is to blame for everything!” said Harry.

“It’s the truth, Cornelius, rather you are willing to admit it or not,” said Amelia. “I saw Peter Pettigrew alive with my own eyes, and I saw him turn into a rat. I also saw Sirius Black running back to warn everyone about the horde of Dementors heading our way when it would have been much easier to let them kill us if he were truly guilty.”

“Oh dear, Amelia! It seems that you’ve been Confunded, too!”

“We’re not Confunded, Minister,” said Severus tartly. “I’d be more than happy to provide a potion that would prove it.”

“We don’t have time to prove what I already know to be true!” Fudge ranted. “I must lead the Dementors to Black!”

“You’re going to have him Kissed?!” Hermione gasped.

Remus began snarling, the hairs on his neck standing straight up.

“You’re damning him to a fate worse than death!” Harry roared while a white-faced Emily shakily tried to calm Remus.

“Enough of this! I’ll be going now, Dumbledore!” With that, Fudge stormed out of the Hospital Wing and slammed the door shut behind him.

“Cornelius!” Amelia yelled, jumping to her feet and running after him.

“Professor Dumbledore, we have to stop him!” Emily pleaded, tears welling up in her green eyes as she hugged a howling Remus.

“Please, Professor!” Harry begged. “Sirius is innocent!”

“Perhaps, but Sirius has not acted like an innocent man tonight,” replied Dumbledore. “And yet, if all is done correctly, maybe two innocent lives can be spared tonight.” The Headmaster stood to leave “ With that, he walked out of the Wing.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded in wordless agreement. “Well, off we go then,” said Hermione as she pulled the gold chain out from under her robes.

“Wha-?” Ron asked as Hermione put the chain around Harry’s neck and lifted the hourglass pendant into view.

“Sorry Ron; no time to explain,” Harry apologized as Hermione turned the hourglass three times. A second later, the world began to blur as time reversed itself by three hours.

As soon as everything came back into focus, the duo ran down to Hagrid’s house and hid in the trees, waiting for the opportunity to free Buckbeak. As they waited, Harry muttered, “I could Stun Pettigrew and we could stop him now!”

“Harry, you can’t! We don’t know where Sirius is yet! Besides, if we capture him now, Fudge and Amelia won’t come. Remember that they only came because Professor Snape sent Professor Tarleton to the Ministry,” Hermione reasoned.

Harry sighed in resignation. “You’re right as always, Hermione.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” she reassured him, “we have time between now and Voldemort’s return to figure out a way to capture Pettigrew again.”

The sound of Hagrid’s door creaking open brought them back to the present, and they watched as their past selves and past Ron ran out and away from the house.

“Right. They’ve had time to see Buckbeak,” said Hermione. “Once they’re inside, we’ll lead Buckbeak away into the forest to wait for time to lead him to Sirius. Do you remember where he was?”

“The Astronomy Tower,” Harry supplied.

A few hours later, the two best friends mounted the hippogriff and flew him up to the Astronomy Tower. Sirius was staring at them in wonder as they dismounted and released him from his cell.

“What? How?” he asked in shock.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” said Harry as he took his godfather’s hand and led him towards Buckbeak. “All that matters right now is getting you two to safety.”

“You truly are your parents’ son, Harry,” said Sirius, face breaking into a warm smile. Then, to Hermione, he said, “and you are truly the brightest witch of your age.”

Hermione blushed at the compliment. “I’m just glad to be able to help,” she responded modestly.

“The last thing I want to do is say good-bye,” said Harry, “but there isn’t much time.”

Godfather and godson embraced tightly before Sirius mounted Buckbeak. Before taking off, the Prisoner of Azkaban bid, “Take care, Pup. It’s not really good-bye, is it? Just a ‘so long’ for the time being.”

“Take care, Sirius. Be careful!”

With that, Sirius gave Buckbeak a light squeeze with his legs, and they flew off into the night sky. Harry and Hermione watched them disappear before turning and running back to the Hospital Wing to explain themselves.

Meanwhile, with Fudge and Amelia…

“Cornelius, stop this foolishness! You are damning an innocent man based on what you want to believe rather than the truth!” Amelia demanded as she ran after the man.

“Amelia, I will not allow Sirius Black to prowl the streets based on the words of his old friends, his godson, and a group of Confunded individuals!”

“If you weren’t so damn pig-headed-!”

“Enough!”

The two had reached the landing of the stairway to the Astronomy Tower’s cell. To their amazement, however, the cell door was wide open.

“WHAT?! How did he escape?!?!?!?!” Fudge roared as he stalked into the cell in an attempt to figure out what had happened.

Amelia smiled smugly as she watched a red-faced Minister storming around the tiny jail. As she turned her head, she noticed something on the ground. Picking it up, she realized that it was a grey feather, much too large to belong to a bird. 

_Hagrid’s hippogriff_ , she recognized. Smiling again at how her boss had been twice outwitted, she pocketed the feather. _Best not let Fudge see this._


	10. A Change of Address and Addressing the Almost Literal Elephant in the Room, by Fall Out Boy

Chapter 10-A Change of Address and Addressing the Almost Literal Elephant in the Room, by Fall Out Boy

The next morning, news of the escape had spread throughout the school. There were also rumors that Professor Lupin was leaving. This had Harry booking it down the hallway to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. _He can’t be leaving! Professor Snape didn’t tell anyone that he’s a werewolf, so he can’t be concerned about parents complaining like last time!_ When Harry opened the door to the classroom, he saw that Remus was indeed packing his belongings up. “Moony, where are you going?”

“I am taking a leave of absence, Harry,” his pseudo-uncle explained. “After everything that has happened this year, I need time to collect my thoughts and figure out what I’m doing. Emily told me-.”

“Told you what, Remy?”

The two men turned to see a smirking Emily in the doorway. 

Smiling, Remus answered, “I was about to tell Harry that you told me what happened last night with Sirius.” Turning back to Harry, Remus continued, “That was wonderful, Harry! You’ve given Sirius another chance at true freedom.”

“I’m so glad that I could, but I never would have been able to without Hermione.”

There was a pause in the conversation as there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Remus called.

The door opened to reveal Albus Dumbledore.

“Ah, Remus. How I’d hoped you’d reconsider.”

“As I said, Professor: I need some time to collect my thoughts and figure some things out. I am not resigning, just taking a leave.”

Dumbledore nodded in acceptance before turning to Harry. “I thought I might find you here. I’m sure you were looking forward to staying with Sirius. However, for the time being, you must return home to your aunt’s.”

“With all due respect, Professor, my aunt’s house has never been my home!” Harry countered.

“And that’s bollocks, Headmaster!” said Emily.

“I’m sorry? I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Emily,” said Dumbledore with a patient expression.

“Harry will absolutely NOT be returning to that bitch’s torture chamber!” said Emily.

“Emily, he has no other choice right now,” Dumbledore argued.

“Oh yes he has!” Emily retorted.

“And what would that be?”

“Harry will be coming to live with me instead!” Emily declared.

Harry felt a jolt of hope go through his heart. _This has never happened before!! Is this really possible? Am I truly going to be free of the Dursleys?_

“On what grounds do you believe this to be a possibility?” questioned Dumbledore.

“Lily and James left a custody order in their will,” Remus explained. “We were able to obtain copies from Gringott’s because we were both listed in the order.”

Dumbledore stared at them. “The Potters’ will was supposed to be sealed until Harry came of age.”

“Yes, on your orders,” said Remus. “Luckily for everyone else, the goblins go by the laws of our world and disregarded your amendment to the will.” To Harry, Remus said, “The goblin we spoke to, Ironclaw, said that he would not read the will in its entirety without you. Emily and I will take you to hear the will over the summer when you are ready.”

“Thank you!” Harry said gratefully, enjoying yet another piece of pleasant surprise that had never occurred during his previous attempts at life.

“Lily and James listed me as a guardian for Harry should something happen to them,” said Emily. “As such, Harry is under my care starting this very moment! So long as there is life in my body, Harry will never return to Petunia!”

It took every shred of self-control in Harry’s body to not jump up and down whooping with joy at this declaration. Instead, he took a deep breath to compose himself and asked, “Professor Tarleton, do you really mean that? I can come live with you, and I don’t have to go back to Aunt Petunia’s?”

Emily smiled brightly at her new ward. “Every word of it, Harry! You’ll never live in Petunia’s house again!”

Harry couldn’t remember ever smiling as big and bright as he did in that moment!

“Emily, I must ask you to reconsider. Petunia is Harry’s blood relative, and as such, Harry is safer on Privet Drive,” Dumbledore wheedled.

“Really now!” the feisty witch scoffed. “You seriously think that Harry is safer with Muggles who abuse him than with a witch that loves him and can protect him? I suppose you think that Harry is safe from Voldemort with Petunia-,”

“Because they both share Lily’s blood,” the man with three middle names interrupted.

“So what? So you supposedly keep him safe from Voldemort there, but what if you’re wrong? I think you are.”

“Does this have to do with what you told me after I faced Quirrell my first year?” Harry asked the old man. “You think I’m safe at Aunt Petunia’s because she shares blood with my mother and you believe my mother’s sacrificing of her life extends some sort of protection to Privet Drive?”

Smiling, Dumbledore answered, “Precisely, Harry. Your mother willingly sacrificed her life to save yours, and you and your aunt both share that same blood. Voldemort has no concept of love; therefore you are safe when physical forms of that blood are present.”

“But that doesn’t make sense, Professor,” said Harry. “I attended a Muggle primary school until I started at Hogwarts, and Aunt Petunia certainly wasn’t there with me. I also spent as much time away from her and out of her house as possible.”

“Really, Headmaster!” Emily continued. “Lily Potter was certainly not the first mother to sacrifice herself for her child! You think that because Lily loved her son that it gives him special protection? Hell, if that were the case, nothing bad would happen to most people, because most people have mothers that love them! Which brings me back to my initial point? What if you’re wrong, as it certainly looks like you are? Muggles don’t stand a chance against Voldemort; he’s murdered plenty of witches and wizards who could defend themselves. Muggles don’t have magic to stop him! Also, what happens to your theory when Petunia or her whale of husband kills Harry while they’re beating and torturing him?”

Harry shuddered at the witch’s last point. She had no way of knowing that she’d been absolutely right about that, considering that his first two deaths were at the hands of his aunt and uncle. _Why hadn’t he ever considered that? I mean, my Hogwarts letter was addressed to Mr. H. Potter in the Cupboard Under the Stairs. That didn’t alarm him?_

“For Harry’s safety, I must override your decision and-,” Dumbledore started.

“I knew you’d try this, old man!” Emily cut him off, eyes narrowed in fury. “That’s why I presented my copy of the custody order to Madame Bones and had his guardianship signed over to me, the legal way!” As she spoke, the ebony-haired woman pulled a roll of parchment from her robes, unfurling it so the Headmaster could see the Ministry document declaring Emily Tarleton as Harry Potter’s legal guardian, with the Minister and DMLE Head’s signatures on the bottom beside the Ministry of Magic’s official seal.

Albus Dumbledore was left without any leverage. He had no authority over the Ministry, nor would he be able to convince Fudge to ignore the custody order, not when Amelia Bones, a known stickler for the rules, was involved. With a sigh, he said, “Very well, Professor. I hope, for Harry’s sake, that you’re making the right decision.”

“Headmaster, she is following the wishes of Harry’s parents,” Remus intervened. “No matter what anyone else thinks, Lily and James have the final say on with whom Harry will reside. What has already happened to Harry while he was in Petunia’s so-called care certainly shows that they made the best decision, with Harry’s well-being and safety in mind.”

“Aunt Petunia may be my mother’s sister, but she never treated my mother’s memory with any love or care, and she certainly never treated me with any either!” said Harry.

At a loss, Dumbledore turned to leave. “Very well. I shall send an owl to the Dursleys informing them of Harry’s new living arrangements.”

“No you won’t,” Emily countered. “I intend to let them know face-to-face when we arrive at King’s Cross.”

“I must advise you against this,” said Dumbledore.

“And I must advise you that I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

Dumbledore didn’t offer a response to Emily’s last comment, instead walking out of the classroom and shutting the door behind him.

“Why that conniving, long-nosed son of a bitch!” Emily growled as soon as the Headmaster was gone.

“Isn’t it funny how just months ago that would’ve been her description of Severus?” Remus snarked with amusement as he placed a stack of books in his trunk.

Harry chuckled at the werewolf’s comment. “She is right, though. I don’t think he’s used to people not blindly obeying him.”

“No, but enough about him. You’re all set to have a fantastic summer, Harry,” said Remus with a smile.

“Yes, a summer that I do hope you’ll be a part of,” Harry replied.

“Wild hippogriffs couldn’t keep me away,” Remus reassured him.

“We’ll leave you to it for now, Remus. You have my address, so I’ll expect to at least have an owl or Floo chat with you within the next few days if you aren’t able to stop by in that time,” said Emily, embracing her old friend. 

“Of course,” Remus answered, returning the hug.

Harry was pleasantly surprised when Remus pulled him into a hug as well, and he relished being close to his “Uncle Moony” again.

“Have a safe train ride back, cub. I’ll be in touch very shortly.”

“You too, Moony,” Harry returned with a grin. 

“Harry, I’m sure you have some packing of your own to do, but I’d like for you to come with me for a few minutes, please. I owe you an explanation and I’d prefer for it to be in private,” Emily requested as they left Remus’s classroom and began down the hallway.

“Of course,” Harry agreed as he followed Emily to what ended up being her own classroom. “I still can’t believe this is real. You’re really taking me in!”

“Yes,” the witch answered with a smile. “Your mother and I were thick as thieves, the best of friends. I am glad for the opportunity to take care of her beloved son, just as she’d wished.” Emily’s expression turned more serious. “I owe you an apology, Harry, and I know that’s not nearly enough. I should have been in your life a long time ago. I’m a half-blood, you know; my father was a wizard and my mother is a Muggle. My father hated Voldemort and everything he stood for. He fought against the Death Eaters and was later killed by Walden McNair.”

“The man from the Ministry who was supposed to execute Buckbeak?!” Harry asked, shocked.

“One and the same,” Emily confirmed. “My mother completely shut down. She was so devastated that she just couldn’t handle it. She and my father married at the age of eighteen, and she grew to depend on him for almost everything, so she couldn’t comprehend having to live without him now. I fled with her to Germany; I was all the family she had left, and Munich was a much safer place to be than London with everything that was going on. It took my mother years before she could begin to deal with losing my father and a long time after that for her to bear the thought of returning to Britain. I lost touch with your parents and our friends after a while of being in Munich, something that haunts me to this day. When my mother finally was capable and ready to return to England, I came looking for Lily and James right away. I was going to visit them and surprise them with the news that I was moving back to England. It didn’t take me long to find out they’d been killed, and I was devastated! Then I went looking for Sirius, expecting to find you in his care, and was told that he was in Azkaban for betraying Lily and James. I knew that it couldn’t be true; Sirius loathed the Dark Arts and he and James were practically brothers, so he would never have betrayed him. And you; my goodness, did Sirius love you, Harry! You were only about four months old when my mother and I left for Germany, but Sirius just doted on you like you were the most precious person in his life, treated you like you were his own son. Anyway, I sought out Professor McGonagall after that and asked her about you and your whereabouts because I knew you were old enough to be at Hogwarts, and when she told me you were with Petunia and her husband, I was furious. I thought that you’d surely be with Remus. Hell, Severus would have been a better guardian at that point than Petunia! I asked her who chose to place you there and why no one attempted to contact me, and she said she didn’t know, but that she was not at all impressed with what she’d observed in your relatives before your placement there and that she’d tried to warn Professor Dumbledore about them.”

“Professor Lupin and Professor Snape mentioned that Dumbledore had something to do with my placement there. I just don’t understand why. And why wouldn’t he clear Sirius?” Harry asked incredulously. 

“I don’t know. I don’t understand it any better than you, I’m afraid,” said Emily with a sigh. “While I was there, however, Professor Babbling stopped by to talk to Professor McGonagall about her desire to move to New Zealand but her conflicted feelings on not wanting to abandon her post without a replacement, which she couldn’t find. I’d always been pretty good at Ancient Runes, and had almost completed my mastery when my father was murdered, so I decided then to offer my services to Bathsheda to be her replacement. She agreed to help me finish my mastery so I could take the job once my mother and I returned to England. We came back just in time, about a week before the start of term, actually. I knew that I had to be there, to get close to you and be a positive adult presence in your life, though I was terribly nervous about meeting you. I was very happily surprised to see Remus already at Hogwarts, but I was glad too, because then there’d be two of us there for you, you know.” Then she did something that surprised Harry (though in retrospect, he decided he shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was): Emily pulled him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Harry. As a guardian, I failed you. I’m so sorry!” 

Harry was startled to feel wetness on his shoulder. “Professor Tarleton- no, Emily,- don’t cry. You’re here now, and even though I don’t know much about guardians, I know I’ll be much happier living with you than I ever was with the Dursleys.” 

She sniffled and pulled away, smiling as she wiped her eyes. “I rather like you calling me Emily; it sounds more like family.”

“Well, we are a family of sorts now,” said Harry with a smile of his own.

“Oh, I’m so looking forward to getting home and letting you get settled in to a real home! I’m eager to get to know you better, too, Harry, and for Remus, Severus, and I to tell you more about your parents and your early childhood. But, for now, I’d best let you go back to Gryffindor Tower so you can finish packing and spend a little bit more time with your friends. Speaking of your friends, they are more than welcome to come to the house if you want, and you can certainly go visit them whenever you’d like!”

“Thank you, Emily! I’ve never been so excited for summer in my entire life.”

When Harry returned to the Common Room, Hermione grabbed him into a bear hug.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“I wanted to check on Remus, and I ended up getting the best news of my life,” he told her with a grin. When he told Hermione about his new living arrangements, the curly-haired witch squealed and squeezed him again.

“Oh Harry, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah, living with Emily is going to be brilliant,” Harry agreed. “It’ll be nice to live with someone who cares about me, and I’ll actually be able to see my friends during the summer.”

“That’ll be great!”

Soon enough, the two were dragging their trunks along to the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Neville. Emily and Remus were waiting at the train, as was Madame Bones.

“Mr. Potter, if I could have a moment alone with you, please. There are a few things I need to discuss with you before you head home with your new guardian,” the DMLE Head explained.

“Certainly, Madame Bones,” Harry answered. The Boy-Who-Lived followed the Ministry Officer to a bench further down from the crowd of excited students boarding the train where they’d be able to talk in peace.

“Mr. Potter, the first order of business is regarding your godfather. I don’t really care what that idiot Fudge says, Sirius is indeed innocent and I will do everything in my power to prove it. First, we have to gather enough information to get rid of the Kiss on Sight order on his name, which can be accomplished by recording the memories of everyone present last night. What everyone saw and heard certainly shows that Sirius is innocent of all the charges against him, and therefore, the Kiss on Sight order can be lifted. You should expect to receive an owl from my office within the next several days so I can retrieve your memories of last night. Do be sure to keep Sirius informed as I give you information,” said Amelia. She smiled at Harry’s puzzled face. “Mr. Potter, Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban, something that everyone thought was impossible, and risked his life to come to Hogwarts after Pettigrew to protect you. I highly doubt that he’ll abandon you now. As soon as he feels safe, he’ll contact you. Oh, and you should also tell him to make sure that that hippogriff of Hagrid’s isn’t recognizable for the time being.” When Harry gave her another stunned expression, she laughed and pulled Buckbeak’s feather out of her pocket. “How else would he have been able to escape, and why else would Mr. McNair be unable to locate him, despite his best efforts?”

At the sound of the Death Eater’s name, Harry frowned. “Are you aware that McNair is a Death Eater? He is the one who murdered Emily’s father!”

“Oh, I know very well what Walden McNair is capable of, Mr. Potter. The problem is trying to prove that all of these scumbags who feign innocence and claim to be forced into He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named’s service are lying. It’s nigh impossible to prove when the Imperius Curse has been used, and blackmail is so easily destroyed.”

“I understand. Thank you, Madame Bones. I will be more than happy to do anything I can to help you clear Sirius’s name!”

“Thank you, Mr. Potter. Now, the other order of business I have is regarding your previous guardians.” 

Harry paled. Where was she going with this?

“Mr. Potter, as I’m sure you already know, your parents had a custody order established which dictated who would take care of you if something happened to them. Obviously, their first choice was Sirius Black since he is your godfather. Others listed in the order were Emily Tarleton and Remus Lupin. What’s important to note is that Petunia Dursley is not listed as a designated guardian in the custody order. In fact, your mother specifically stated in the order that you were NOT to placed in Petunia’s care given their non-existent relationship at the time of your mother’s death. So, the fact that you have spent almost your entire life in your aunt’s care is unacceptable. Professor Tarleton also shared with me that you were abused by your aunt and her husband. I am so sorry, Mr. Potter! You should never have had to suffer what you have! I will also be investigating this travesty as well, and you’d better believe that no one culpable in this will be escaping unscathed!”

Harry, despite knowing that this was part of the woman’s job, was touched by the genuine outrage he saw in her face at what he’d endured while living at Privet Drive. “Thank you, Madame Bones, for everything you’re doing for me. I will never be able to tell you how much I appreciate it!”

“You’re very welcome, Mr. Potter,” said Amelia as they rose from the bench and began heading back towards the Hogwarts Express. “Well, let me not take any more of your time; you have a train to catch and friends who are waiting for you. I must ask that you not tell anyone about our conversation except for Professor Tarleton and Professor Lupin. Although, as I understand it, Miss Granger has your full confidence, so I think you’ll be safe telling her.”

Harry whipped his head around to ask how on Earth she knew that, but Amelia was gone. Shaking his head, Harry boarded the train and found the car containing Hermione, Ron, and Neville.

“What was that all about?” Ron asked curiously.

“Sorry, Ron; I’m not allowed to tell anyone yet,” Harry apologized. “But here: I want to give you lot my new address so I can keep in touch with you over the summer!” The young wizard pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from out of his trunk and tore it into 6 pieces, writing Emily’s address and phone number on three of them and giving them to his friends. On Hermione’s slip, he wrote “I’ll catch you up later” on the bottom before handing it to her. Then, he passed the other three papers and the quill to his friends so they could write their own addresses and, in Hermione’s case, her phone number, down. Then, the friends enjoyed some minor chitchat and games of Exploding Snap while the Hogwarts Express took them closer to King’s Cross Station. They were nearly there when Neville realized that Trevor had hopped off. Groaning in irritation, the boy trudged off in search of the toad. His friends were rising to help him when what appeared to be a flying cotton ball smashed into their compartment’s window. 

“What the devil?” Ron asked as Hermione opened the window and reached out, pulling a tiny owl inside.

 _I completely forgot about Pigwidgeon and Sirius’s letter!_ Harry thought as he watched Hermione pull the letter off of the owl’s leg.

“It’s for you, Harry!” Hermione told him as she handed the envelope to him.

Harry grinned at the familiar sight of his godfather’s handwriting, opening the envelope to reveal Sirius’s letter and the signed Hogsmeade permission slip. As before, Ron was happy to receive Pigwidgeon and held the owl out to Crookshanks for approval. Neville returned a moment later flanked by Fred and George, who were teasing the boy good-naturedly about Trevor’s chronic disappearing acts.

“Where’d the owl come from?” Neville asked curiously as he sat back down, arms clamped tightly around his toad.

“He just flew into the window, and he seems to have taken quite a liking to Ron,” said Harry. Indeed, Pigwidgeon was currently perched on Ron’s shoulder, though he was bouncing up and down excitedly.

The four friends, now joined by Fred and George, continued their games and chatting until the Hogwarts Express came to a stop at Platform 9 ¾. Upon disembarking from the train, Harry bid his friends good-bye (and received another bear hug from his unknowing soulmate) and went to find Emily. When he found her, his new guardian smiled warmly.

“Enjoy your ride?” she asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“Mmhmm!”

The two crossed the barrier back into the mundane world.

“Well, let’s get this bit of unpleasantness out of the way,” said Emily grimly as they began searching the crowd for the Dursleys.

With Vernon’s size and even larger mouth, it didn’t take too long. To Harry’s surprise, Petunia and Dudley were also with him. Upon seeing his nephew, Vernon opened his mouth to jeer at him. However, he stopped short when he saw the woman with the fierce expression on her face standing beside Harry. After ascertaining that she must be a witch since she was wearing robes, he spat, “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Emily Tarleton. I was Lily’s best friend until her murder and am here to tell you that we recently came across the custody order that Lily and James had set up in their will. They had correctly assumed that you two would never make suitable guardians and did not have you listed. Unfortunately for Harry, the meddling old goat placed him in your ‘care’ anyway due to his own ideas. Now, as I AM on the list of guardians, I will be taking Harry to my home today to live with me, and he will never suffer at your hands ever again!”

“You dare accuse us of wrongdoing?” Petunia snarled.

The lid on Emily’s temper vanished. “How dare I?! How dare YOU?! You should be so bloody ashamed of yourself, Petunia! You’ve abused your nephew for all of his life, and you’ve allowed the beached whale you married to beat him and starve him!” 

“HOW DARE YOU SAY-“ Vernon started. 

“Oh shut up, Moby Dick! I’m not talking to you anyway!” Emily snapped.

****CUTAWAY TO GRIM REAPER DISPATCH, LONDON BRANCH****

“Woohoo!!! You go, girl!! Get him!!” Grelle and William were watching the events on a big screen TV, William with a satisfied smile at the beautiful justice being doled out and Grelle aggressively cheering Emily on in between bites of the popcorn she’d made to eat while enjoying her current entertainment. William was in such a good mood that he didn’t even bother to correct the redheaded Reaper for her loud mouth.

****BACK TO KING’S CROSS STATION, LONDON, ENGLAND****

The furious witch had turned her attention back to her best friend’s elder sister. “Your baby sister’s child was left in your care, and you treated him like a plague-infected rat! Had the roles been reversed and you and the tub of lard had been the ones murdered by a psychotic serial killer, and your son been left in Lily’s care, she and James would have raised him like he was their own son! They would have loved him, taken excellent care of him, and supported him! He would have grown up with a cousin his age to be like a brother, someone to play with and to be his friend! She would NEVER have abused Dudley the way you’ve abused Harry! There are more times than I’d care to remember that I found Lily lying across her bed in our dormitory sobbing her eyes out because she missed you so much and wanted to have the close relationship with you that she used to have! She often said that she wished you had magic as well so you could have attended Hogwarts as well. She said you wanted to go with her and blamed her for you being a Muggle!” 

Petunia sputtered incoherently as the furious witch revealed a secret she’d never wanted her husband to know, but his close-minded stupidity came to her rescue. “Ha! My wife would never wish for such poppycock! I don’t believe the words of a freak like you!” 

Harry, reeling as he watched this exchange, hazarded a glance at his cousin. He was shocked to see that Dudley appeared to be deep in thought and not really reacting to the strange woman screaming at and insulting his parents.

“Excuse me,” a man’s voice interrupted.

Everyone turned to see a man and woman standing there with Hermione.

“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but you’re causing a scene,” the man continued with a stern frown.

“Harry! Are you ok?” Hermione asked, approaching her best friend with a look of concern on her face.

“I’m ok, Hermione. Emily was trying to tell the Dursleys about my new living arrangements and, of course, an argument broke out. There’s no such thing as a civil conversation with Uncle Vernon,” Harry replied.

“You ungrateful little shit!” Vernon roared, making a fist and grabbing at Harry. In an instant, Vernon found Harry shielded by Hermione with Emily’s wand jabbing into his throat and the man grabbing his arm.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you will NOT put your hands on that boy!” the man warned.

“You dare put your brute hands on him again?!” Emily hissed dangerously, pushing her wand further into Vernon’s throat.

“Again?!” the woman asked in a horrified tone of voice.

“These are the most horrible people I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing, Mum!” Hermione told the woman.

“You must be Hermione’s parents,” Harry addressed the man and woman. “Well, this certainly isn’t the first impression I wanted to make on my best friend’s family…”

“So this is the famous Harry Potter,” said Mrs. Granger with a kind smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you, though I do wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Unhand my husband!” Petunia demanded of Mr. Granger.

“With all due respect, ma’am,” said Mr. Granger, “your husband was about to strike a child, and not for the first time from the sounds of it. I won’t let go of him until I know that the boy is safe from him!”

Hermione led Harry into the crowd to another part of the station where there were benches and a vending machine. Hermione put some money into the machine’s slots and got 2 water bottles, one of which she handed to Harry.

“I’m sorry that I made such a dismal first impression on your parents, Hermione,” Harry muttered.

“What’re you talking about, Harry?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “You didn’t do anything to make them think badly of you!”

“No, but my uncle…”

“…has a mouth and a rage problem as big as his stomach,” Hermione finished coolly.

The wizard chuckled at his best friend’s description. “Yes, exactly!”

“My parents already like you, Harry. Don’t think I haven’t told them about all the times you’ve saved my life or been there for me when I needed you!”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t last a few days without you, Hermione. You’re always there to reel me in when I’m about to do something stupid or impulsive,” Harry returned.

The young witch beamed and threw her arms around him. This was how Emily and the Grangers found the two teens: wrapped in a tight embrace on the bench.

“Sorry to break up the coziness here,” said Mrs. Granger with a sly smile as the two blushed and separated. 

Harry stood and stuck his hand out. “Sorry about my uncle. I’d like to formally greet you now that that’s all over. My name is Harry Potter, Hermione’s friend.”

“Best friend,” Hermione corrected with a smile as Mrs. Granger shook Harry’s hand and said, “Hello, Harry. It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’m Charlotte Granger, Hermione’s mum.”

Mr. Granger also shook his hand. “It’s nice to finally have a face to go with the name we’ve seen so often in our daughter’s letters. I’m Hermione’s dad, Jacob Granger.”

“I guess I should introduce myself, as well. I’m Emily Tarleton. I was Harry’s mum’s best friend and am now his guardian. I can’t thank you enough for your help in handling that beached whale!”

Jacob chuckled. “My pleasure! I’ve never had the misfortune of meeting someone so unpleasant before, and I’m a dentist!”

“What ended up happening?” Harry asked the green-eyed witch.

“Well, the beluga kept that garbage disposal of a mouth running and running, and he was getting more upset because Jacob here wouldn’t let go of him because he didn’t want him lashing out at anyone else, and all that noise attracted the attention of a bobby, who came and escorted them out of the station,” Emily explained.

Jacob frowned suddenly. “You do realize that, as medical care givers, Charlotte and I are required to report any signs or suspicions of abuse, right?”

“Yes, I know. However, I and some of Harry’s father’s friends are working on it. There is also our equivalent of a detective working on the case, and she certainly won’t be letting them off! May I ask that you work with me on this, for Harry’s sake? I would like to end this in one fell swoop so he doesn’t have to keep going back into a court room because this is being dragged out, you know?”

“Of course!” Charlotte reassured. “We’ll be more than happy to help!”

“Great! Thank you!”

“I would also like to thank you,” said Harry. “I’m still getting used to people worrying about my well-being, and I really do appreciate it.”

Hermione pulled him into another hug. “You don’t have to do it all on your own anymore, Harry. We’re here!”

Harry smiled at his best friend’s answer. “What would I do without you?”

****GRIM REAPER DISPATCH, LONDON BRANCH****

“Now kiss!” Grelle yelled at the screen.

“Patience, Grelle,” William chastised lightly. “They’re off to a good start for a happy ending.”


	11. Welcome Home, Potter

Chapter 11-Welcome Home, Potter

After saying good-bye to Hermione and her parents with the plan of getting together soon, Emily took Harry’s hand as they Apparated to the Tarleton residence. Harry was amazed by his new home! The house was a modest ranch-style with a wrap-around porch. To the right of the house was a large red barn, and a blue pick-up truck was parked in the driveway.

“Welcome home, Harry!” said Emily with a warm smile.

“It’s wonderful!” Harry complimented as he took in the beautiful, non Privet Drive view.

“Hedwig is welcome to stay with you in your room, but there’s also a perch and feeding station in the top portion of the barn as well, if she’d prefer,” said Emily as they approached the house. In a conspiratorial whisper, she added, “The barn is also a great place to practice spells.” In response to Harry’s raised eyebrow, Emily giggled. “You’re now living in a home where there is an adult capable of using magic. Therefore, our home works just like your friends Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom, where they are technically able to use magic at home because there are adults in the home using magic and the Ministry certainly can’t be investigating every instance of magic coming from a Magical home!”

“So you’re condoning my breaking the rules?” Harry asked with a grin.

“James would be bloody disappointed if you didn’t have a little fun now and again!”

The duo walked up the front steps and crossed the porch to the front door, which the witch unlocked and pushed open. “Mum, we’re here!” she called as they stepped in and closed the door.

“In here!” an older woman’s voice called from a few rooms away.

Harry and Emily walked through the living room and the dining room to the kitchen where the woman was busy cubing up seasoned chicken breasts. When she saw the two enter the room, she smiled. “Welcome home!” she greeted.

“Hello, Mum,” Emily returned, hugging her. “Harry, this is my mum, Mariska. Mum, this is Harry,” she introduced.

“Hello, Harry,” said Mariska as she pulled him into a hug. “I’m sure you hear it all the time, but you could be your father’s double if it weren’t for those eyes; those are your mother’s eyes.”

“Thank you, Miss Mariska,” Harry answered. “It’s great to meet you!”

“I do hope you’re both hungry! I’m making Bruschetta and Zucchini Pasta with Chicken,” said Mariska as she returned to the counter. “It will be ready in 10 minutes.”

“Sounds great, Mum,” said Emily. “I’m going to give Harry the grand tour and let him at least get his things in his room before we eat.”

Mariska nodded in understanding as she finished the chicken and moved on to dicing up plum tomatoes.

“Well, you’ve already seen the living room, dining room, and kitchen,” said Emily as they made their way through. “Down this hallway is the laundry room, Mum’s room, the bathroom, my room, and here’s your room,” said Emily, indicating each door as they passed before stopping at a wooden door in the middle of the suspiciously long hall. Harry turned to look at Emily.

“You used expansion charms on your house, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Emily confirmed with a laugh as she opened the doorknob to Harry’s room. “I do hope you like it! You can decorate it however you’d like, and if you’d prefer different furniture, we can change to what you’d like instead of what’s here.”

Harry looked around his room in awe. It was a large room with white walls and a plush scarlet carpet. The twin windows were each furnished with goldenrod drapes. His bed was full-sized with a soft mattress covered in Gryffindor red and gold. He had a desk, dresser, bookcase, nightstand, and entertainment center, all mahogany, and a decent sized television sat inside the entertainment center. There were several books already on the shelf, some of which were Muggle titles while others were magic. There was also a roomy closet. Next to the window was a small table. 

“That’s for Hedwig’s cage if she’d like to stay in the house,” Emily explained. “I wasn’t sure what size you are and what kind of clothes you like to wear, so I thought we could go shopping tomorrow and get your clothes and anything else you’d like.” Then she hesitated. “Do you like your room?” she asked nervously.

“I love it!” said Harry with a wide grin. He turned to the anxious witch and gave her a great big hug. “Thank you, Emily!”

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re very welcome, Harry!”

Harry pushed his trunk into the closet to unpack after dinner and set Hedwig’s cage on the table by the window. He pushed one of the windows open and unlatched the cage door. “Are you ready to go hunting, girl?” Harry asked the cage’s occupant. Hedwig gave a hoot of confirmation and flew out of the cage onto Harry’s proffered arm. “I’ll leave the window and your cage open if you want to come back inside, or you can roost in the barn if you want,” said Harry. Hedwig gave another hoot and nipped Harry’s ear playfully before taking off out the window in search of her meal.

“Emily, Harry! Dinner!” Mariska called from the kitchen.

The two returned to the front of the house, where Mariska had three places set with heaping plates of food and glasses of milk. She ushered Harry to the seat with the largest portion. “You’ll get some meat on your bones if I have a say in the matter!” she declared as the boy sat down.

Harry was touched by the concern that this woman was showing him after knowing him for mere minutes. “Thank you, Miss Mariska.”

“There’s no need for formalities among family, my dear,” she responded with a gentle smile.

The young wizard’s eyes stung with unshed tears of joy forming in the corners. “It’s nice to have a family that cares,” he murmured.

Emily squeezed his hand. “Get used to it, Harry; we’re not going anywhere. I’m sure Hermione will be by often as well, and the rest of your friends are also welcome whenever you want.”

Harry murmured another gratitude before they said grace and dug in. “This is delicious!” he praised as he began devouring his dinner.

“I’m so glad you like it, dear,” said Mariska with a grin. Once Harry had cleared his plate, the Muggle woman noticed him glancing at the bowl of pasta. “Do help yourself,” she encouraged. “There are no rations in this house; you eat as much as you want, and don’t be shy about asking for anything. I want you to eat until your stomach is full, whether it’s after one plate or six!” Mariska was elated to see Harry eat another plate and a half after this prompt.

Once they’d finished eating, the trio made small talk as they put the leftovers away and washed up the dishes before retiring to the living room to watch a movie. Harry grinned when he saw Emily putting _Star Wars_ into the VCR. The witch returned the grin when she saw the boy’s reaction. “Remus mentioned that you liked _Star Wars_ , so I thought it’d be a nice way to kick off the summer.”

“I’ve never been able to watch it, actually,” Harry admitted. “There was a girl in my primary school class, before I got my Hogwarts letter, and she talked nonstop about _Star Wars_. Dudley was never interested in it, and I certainly couldn’t ask Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon to watch it. I’m really excited to be able to finally see it!”

“I’m glad you get to see it, too; I know you’re gonna love it!”

Harry did indeed love _Star Wars_ ; the movie was absolutely amazing! “Wow!! That was brilliant!”

“Yes, it’s a fantastic movie, as are the other two,” said Mariska. “Here, let me grab us some dessert and we’ll watch the next one.”

“Mum’s answer to everything is food,” Emily teased.

“Yes, but in this case, we’ll enjoy some lazy food: Oreos and peanut butter!” Mariska announced as she returned with a pack of Oreos, a large jar of Jiff, a spoon, and 3 plates. 

Harry immensely enjoyed his first evening as a member of the Tarleton household, watching movies and eating junk food with two women who already loved him. When _The Empire Strikes Back_ ended, Mariska gave a big yawn.

“Well, I don’t know about you young ones, but I’m ready to turn in for the evening.”

“That actually sounds pretty good; we’ve had a pretty busy day,” Emily commented as Harry stifled a yawn of his own. 

“Well, why don’t we all turn in, then?”

Harry and Emily agreed that this was a good idea, and the three bade each other good-night before retiring to their respective rooms. Harry shut his door and went to his closet to retrieve his pajamas from his trunk, deciding to postpone unpacking the trunk until morning. He found that Hedwig had returned from her hunt and was back in her cage, preening her feathers. “Hey, girl,” Harry greeted as he shut the window and proceeded to change into his pajamas. Just as he was about to climb into bed, William materialized in the middle of the room.

“Good evening, Harry,” the stoic Reaper greeted.

“Hi, William,” Harry returned. “Has something happened?”

“Besides you changing your future for the better thus far?” William asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Er, yes. I don’t usually get visits from you unless it’s serious,” Harry replied as he sat on the end of his bed while William took a seat at the desk chair.

“True. I also don’t usually get so devoted to my Souls, but you’re different. I’m very much invested in your story, and I’m rooting for you. Well, Grelle and I both are, actually. So, you enjoyed your first night with your new guardian?”

“Yes! I feel like I’m with family here. The only other time I’ve felt like that is in my past lives when I was with Sirius. Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you: Why wasn’t Emily in my life before?”

William sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You didn’t know Emily Tarleton before because Grelle Sutcliff is an insufferable imbecile. She was to collect the soul of an Englishwoman from Cornwall named Emilie Charleston, who was to die of a brain aneurysm while visiting friends in Munich, but the idiot reaped the soul of Emily Tarleton instead. This was the day that Emily was due to return home from Germany. When Grelle realized her error, she tried to fix her bungle rather than reporting it to Management and ended up erasing Emily Tarleton from existence.”

“My God! So, what was different this time? I’ve never known her before this timeline, and Sirius and Remus certainly never mentioned that they had such a close friend that was also my mother’s friend. Why was she able to exist now?”

“Remember what I told you when we spoke in my office before you arrived in this time? Only Souls with a special destiny get do-overs. However, since this is your final chance, I decided that we could help put things to your advantage. When we sent you back to this time, I asked Undertaker to open another hole in the time stream that would go back a little bit further to reinsert Emily’s Soul into the timeline.”

“But how did you have time to do that? I went immediately from your office to the Hogwarts Express.”

“It seemed instantaneous for you, but it actually took you a few hours to be moved in the timeline. This gave us plenty of time before you awoke in this timeline to put Emily back and right Grelle’s egregious mistake.”

Harry blinked as he processed this information. “Woah… Thank you, William!”

“You’re welcome, Harry. I believe in you and your ability to achieve your destiny. With that being said, I also believe in stacking the deck in your favor when possible.” The Reaper glanced at the alarm clock on Harry’s nightstand. “Well, I should let you get to sleep. Keep up the good work, Mr. Potter.”

With a grin, Harry responded, “I’ll make you proud, Mr. Spears!”

The stoic Reaper returned the grin before vanishing from the wizard’s bedroom and materializing in the Grim Reaper Dispatch. He found his redheaded coworker sitting in his office, fuming.

“Will, why must you always be so mean? I’m not an imbecile!” Grelle whined.

“Of course not,” William returned sarcastically. “ _Anyone_ could have accidentally erased someone from existence!”

Grelle pouted. “I’m not talking to you anymore!”

“That’s fine.”

The flamboyant Reaper left the room in a huff. William sat down at his desk and counted aloud. “3, 2, 1,…” As soon as the last number left William’s lips, Grelle came back into the office with her nose in the air. The shark-toothed Reaper sat in one of the chairs on the opposite side of William’s desk in silence for a few minutes before she dropped her feigned disinterest.

“Sweet Harry finally has a nice home! Now, when is his Miss Granger returning?”

“I have a feeling she’ll be stopping by for a visit very soon.”

William then stood and picked Harry’s book up off of his desk and started down the hallway to the library to replace it, with Grelle following. As he pushed the book back into place, another one began glowing. William’s brows knit together in confusion as he read the name on the spine. “Hmm… how curious…”

“What is it, Will?” Grelle asked, peeking over the brunette’s shoulder.

“I do believe that Mr. Potter’s story is about to get more interesting. He may have another ally.”

“What, him?” Grelle questioned, pointing at the book. “You think that he’ll be Harry’s ally?”

“Perhaps. We’ll have to see what choices he makes…” William trailed off as he carried the book to a sofa and opened it up.

“Hey, wait for me!” Grelle protested.


	12. Building the Case

Chapter 12-Building the Case

For the first summer morning that he could remember, Harry woke up feeling happy and looking forward to what the day had in store for him. The Boy-Who-Lived sat up and looked around, still marveling over the fact that he had a room that was his, given to him by people who loved him because they loved him, a room embellished in Gryffindor scarlet and gold because that’s what Emily thought he would like, a room that was his to decorate as he pleased. Hedwig, too, was free to come in and out of the house as she pleased because it would make him happy and because Emily wasn’t going to punish an innocent owl to satiate her own feelings, unlike the Dursleys. For the first time, Harry could do his homework whenever he wanted without hiding it, could be who he was without being called a “freak” and sneered at, or worse, beaten. For the first time, he could look forward to spending time with his friends that didn’t involve schoolwork or defeating Voldemort (for the most part). And, for the first time, as Harry entered the dining room, he was greeted by two smiling faces and warm, “Good morning, Harry!”s, as well as a hot breakfast that he wasn’t forced to cook for everybody else but forbidden to eat himself. Indeed, Mariska sat a huge stack of blueberry waffles smothered in butter and maple syrup in front of him, watching to make sure he ate every bite and reminding him that he was allowed to eat until he was truly no longer hungry. 

“Did you sleep well?” Emily asked as Harry dug into Mariska’s excellent cooking.

“Yes, thank you! My bed is very comfortable. I really love my room, Emily. Thank you!”

Emily beamed happily at her charge. “You’re very welcome! Now, I was thinking that maybe after breakfast, we could go and get you your clothes? That is, if you didn’t have something else you wanted to do?”

“No, that sounds like a plan! If you don’t mind, I’d have to get some money from my vault at Gringott’s. Would they convert some Galleons to pounds?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely not, Harry! I won’t have you buying your own clothes! I’m paying for them,” said Emily.

“I can’t ask you to buy me a whole new wardrobe!” Harry argued.

“You’re not asking me to; I’m giving them to you. Also, I _can_ buy you a whole new wardrobe. I’m the guardian around here, and I intend to make sure that you have everything that you need and as much as you want as I can possibly do!” Emily promised.

Harry felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. The boy still couldn’t believe that there were actually people that loved him like this! Sure, this was probably what it was like when his parents were still alive, but he was just a baby then and couldn’t remember it at all. The only other adults he’d every had were Sirius and Remus, but Sirius was absent for 12 years, on the run for another year, and then the short time he got to live with him was with the entire Order of the Phoenix there as well and Sirius feeling like a prisoner in his own home, and then Sirius was gone. Remus was there even less, constantly going different places either seeking work from a very small job market open to hiring a werewolf or off on some sort of mission for Dumbledore or the Order, and then he too was gone, taken from his own son. 

“Oh, Harry, don’t cry!” Emily exclaimed, alarmed.

“I’m alright!” he reassured, wiping his eyes hastily. “I’m still just getting used to people caring about me is all.”

“That’s all, he says,” Mariska murmured darkly to herself. “What a thing for a thirteen year old to have to say at all!”

“I know, Mum, but we’re taking care of it. Expect to see Madame Bones and Remus quite frequently. Harry’s friend, Hermione, the one who’ll most likely be the one who visits the most often, her parents are dentists, and they were there yesterday. They’re the ones I told you about. They’ll probably be here, too. Our boy’s going to be taken care of!” said Emily, squeezing Harry’s shoulder.

“Thank you!”

The rest of the meal passed in cheerful chit chat. After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, the new family piled into the blue pickup and headed out to get Harry some clothes of his own. As promised, Emily refused to let Harry pay for any of it. When they returned home, Harry eagerly piled his old clothes in a rubbish bag and put his new clothes in the closet and the dresser. He also pulled his trunk out of the closet and unpacked, putting his books on the bookcase and quills, ink, and parchment on the desk. He decided to leave his telescope in his trunk as he doubted he’d need it except for his Astronomy homework. His cauldron and Potions supplies also stayed in his trunk for the time being, and he smirked at how he was, for once, not dreading his summer Potions work. His Firebolt was left in the closet for now, though he planned on asking Emily about installing a wall-mounted broom display for it. His holly and phoenix feather wand was placed on his nightstand, as was his photo album from Hagrid containing his only photographs of his parents. He wondered if Emily or Remus might have photos of them that they might be willing to either give him or copy for him. He also placed his letters from Sirius and his contact information for Hermione, Ron, and Neville on the desk, which reminded him that he needed to catch Hermione up to speed about his conversation with Madame Bones, and he needed to write to Sirius. Harry felt a rush of joy come over him as he sat down at his desk to begin his letter to Sirius. His godfather was alive again, and if Harry had his way, Sirius would be surviving Voldemort’s defeat this time! Dipping his quill in the inkwell, Harry began to write.

Dear Sirius,

I’m glad you and Buckbeak are safe! I was really happy to get your letter. Ron says thanks for the owl. Thank you for the Hogsmeade slip as well; it’ll be nice to go without having to sneak in with the Map and Dad’s cloak next year. My plans for the summer have taken a turn for the better: Emily got guardianship, so I’m living with her now! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be out of Aunt Petunia’s house! Madame Bones is working on your case and is currently trying to get the “Kiss on Sight” order off your head. Please stay safe and keep in touch as best you can! I hope we can meet again in person soon!

Love,

Harry

The raven-haired wizard sealed the letter and was pulling out another parchment to begin his letter to Hermione when there was a knock on his door. 

“Harry? May I come in?” Emily asked from the other side.

“Yeah, come on in.”

The witch stepped into her charge’s room and looked around. “Wow! You got all your stuff unpacked! It looks really good, Harry!”

“Thanks! I did want to ask you if I could install a wall mount for my Firebolt, if that’s ok with you.”

“Of course! It’s your room, and you can do whatever you’d like to it. We’ll have to stop in Quality Quidditch Supplies when we go to Diagon Alley and see what they have. Oh? Getting a jump on homework already?” Emily asked, looking at the quill in Harry’s hand.

“No, not yet, though I do plan to start soon. I was answering Sirius’s letter and was going to write Hermione a letter. I promised to catch her up on what Madame Bones told me before I got on the Hogwarts Express,” answered he.

“Oh. Hey, if you haven’t sent your response to Sirius yet, do you mind waiting for just a few minutes? I meant to send him a letter as well, and if you don’t mind, I’ll just send my letter with yours.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Ok. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Harry wrote his letter to Hermione and sealed it just as Emily returned with her letter for Sirius. The witch handed her letter over, and Harry gave all three letters to Hedwig. “This one’s for Hermione, and these two are for Sirius. Do you mind?”

Hedwig gave a brief hoot of confirmation and nipped Harry’s finger affectionately before taking off out the window with the letters.

As promised, Harry started his summer work a few days later. Having lived this time before made completing the work easier, and it still amazed him that he could actually enjoy Potions for the first time now that he and Professor Snape were on good terms. He and Hermione kept in touch almost daily through Hedwig, and Emily had arranged for the Grangers, Madame Bones, and Remus to come over for dinner with the idea in mind that the adults could discuss what to do about the Dursleys while Harry and Hermione spent some time hanging out afterwards. Sirius, however, had been suspiciously quiet, which had Harry worried. Had something happened to his godfather? He expressed his concerns to Emily, who told him not to worry and reasoned that Sirius would probably leave some delays between messages because he didn’t want to draw too much attention to wherever he was hiding. The young Potter did his best to trust that Sirius was ok, but the night before everyone was to arrive, as he was lying in bed, he kept fretting about his godfather and praying for him to be safe. 

The next morning, Harry received a strange, wet wake-up call. “Hmm?” Harry groaned, yawning and reaching for his glasses. Upon putting them on and looking for the source of the wetness, Harry was very happily surprised! Sitting next to his bed with his tongue lolling out was none other than Padfoot! The big black dog was panting with joy and barked when he saw that his godson was awake. “Sirius!!” Harry exclaimed jubilantly, wrapping his arms around the dog’s neck in a hug. The dog morphed into his godfather, who was much cleaner than he’d been when he escaped from Hogwarts on Buckbeak. The Prisoner of Azkaban was also wearing clean but threadbare robes that reminded Harry of Moony’s. Harry was also glad to see happiness in the Black lord’s eyes. 

“Surprise, pup!” Sirius greeted with a grin.

“When did you get here? How did you get here?”

“Last night on Buckbeak, of course. He’s in the barn getting some shut-eye under some glamour charms so he looks like a horse. Emily wrote to me and gave me her address and an invitation to come live here. Her house is far enough into the country that it’ll be hard for anyone to find me, and I can always morph if anyone does come looking. I’m not registered as an Animagus, after all, and the only people that know aren’t going to tell anyone else. So, how have you been, Harry? Do you like it here?”

“I’m brilliant, now that I know you’re safe! I was really worried when I didn’t hear from you. Emily tried to reason with me, but…”

“Sorry for worrying you, Harry. Don’t fret: I’m not going anywhere anytime soon! I’ll be staying here with you lot until I’m cleared, and then we’ll see from there. After breaking out of Azkaban and going on the run, the most excitement I’ll need for a while is just being able to go out without worrying about Aurors arresting me or Dementors feasting on my soul.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

“Well, let me let you get dressed, and I’ll see you in a few minutes at the breakfast table.” Sirius gave his godson a big hug before leaving his room to give him privacy. It was an ecstatic Harry Potter that sat down to a big breakfast, where another surprise was waiting: Remus Lupin was sitting at the table beside Sirius, and the two old friends looked like they were catching up. The werewolf smiled when he saw Harry take a seat directly across from his godfather.

“Good morning, Harry!”

“Morning, Moony! Good to see you!”

“Alright, family! Breakfast!” Mariska announced as she and Emily began laying out a spread of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and hash browns. 

“I hope everyone’s hungry!” said Emily as she laid down the last dish.

“I expect all three of you gentlemen to eat until you’re no longer hungry. There will be no denial of anything in this house!” Mariska informed the males seated at the table. Sirius and Remus appeared taken aback, but Harry laughed.

“She means it! If she even suspects that you’re still hungry, she’ll make sure you keep eating.”

The two Marauders decided to heed the young Potter’s warning and piled their plates with food. Mariska nodded her head in approval.

“That’s it. Tuck in, everybody!”

Once breakfast was finished (and Sirius and Remus had eaten thirds under Mariska’s watchful eye), Emily insisted on getting robes for both Sirius and Remus, much to their protests. 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Emily interrupted them. “Remus, consider them as birthday presents, as I’ve missed the past several. Sirius, you’re living in my home now and I insist on you having clothes that aren’t prison garbs or borrowed.”

“You’d better listen to her, too,” Harry advised. “We had this exact argument when I first got here, and she won.”

Reluctantly, Sirius and Remus surrendered, and Emily Apparated away a few minutes later after getting their sizes. While she was away, Harry caught up with Sirius and Remus.

“Are you enjoying your summer so far, Harry?” the werewolf inquired.

“Yeah, it’s been brilliant! This is the first place besides Hogwarts to feel like home. I mean, I’m sure I felt at home with Mum and Dad, but this is the first that I can remember.”

At this comment, both men frowned.

“I’m so sorry, pup. This is all my fault!” Sirius claimed guiltily.

“Your fault?!” Harry challenged. “Tell me, Sirius: did you beat me and starve me?”

The Prisoner of Azkaban flinched at this information. “No! Merlin’s beard, Harry! Beatings? Starvation? What the bloody hell happened to you?!”

“I really don’t want to get into it until Madame Bones and Hermione’s parents get here, but ‘bloody hell’ is a pretty accurate summary,” the sole living Potter replied. Mariska’s eyes narrowed.

“Those people are going to pay dearly! We’re going to make sure of it!”

“Thanks,” said Harry gratefully. “Now, if everyone doesn’t mind, can we not talk about this anymore until later?”

“Of course! How are you doing on your homework?” Mariska asked, dropping the subject.

“Great! I’m sure if Hermione looks it over that she’ll have a different opinion, but I think I’m doing pretty well. It’s the first summer that I haven’t dreaded my Potions homework.”

“I’m sure it’ll also be the first September that Severus doesn’t dread looking at your homework as well,” Remus commented.

“This is still weird, not being at Sniv- er, Severus’s throat,” said Sirius.

“You’ll get used to it,” said Emily as she reappeared. “It took me a while, too.”

“Will he be meeting with us at all this summer?” Remus asked.

“If he does, it probably won’t be very often,” the witch answered. “Severus wants to help, of course, but he’s also trying to make sure he doesn’t tip Dumbledore off. He believes-and I agree- that the old coot won’t give out any information we can use if he thinks that Sev will relay it back to us, especially since he’s the one who completely ignored James and Lily’s will and custody order.”

“Can’t besmirch that precious reputation, can we?” Sirius pondered sarcastically.

“What’s your favorite subject so far, Harry?” Mariska asked loudly, attempting to keep the conversation lighthearted.

“Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Harry answered, grinning at Remus as he spoke. “It’s such a fascinating subject, especially when you have a teacher that’s not sharing his body with Voldemort or a narcissistic fraud.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed the class so much, cub,” said Remus with a fond smile. Then, to Sirius, he asked, “Did you know that he can cast a corporeal Patronus?”

“You were so proud when he mastered it,” Emily recalled with a smile of her own.

“A corporeal Patronus? That’s impressive, Harry! What form does it take?” Sirius asked eagerly.

“A stag,” Harry replied softly.

“It looks just like Prongs,” Remus added.

“That’s incredible, pup!”

“We’re all so proud of you, Harry,” said Emily warmly.

Harry smiled as he took in the feeling of being in a room full of adults who loved him and were so encouraging of him. “Thank you, all of you!”

“You’re welcome, dear,” answered Mariska. “Now, how about we finish Luke Skywalker’s journey?”

“Who’s Luke Skywalker?” Sirius puzzled.

“C’mon; we’ll show you!” said Emily, steering her old friend towards the living room.

“Remember those _Star Wars_ movies I was telling you and James about?” Remus asked as he, Harry, and Mariska followed.

“Vaguely.”

“Well, this is one of them.”

“I’ll be along momentarily,” said Mariska. “I need to soak the ham for tonight in ginger ale and put it in the oven so it’s ready in time.”

“You’re really gonna like the movie, Sirius!” Harry promised eagerly.

Indeed, Sirius did enjoy _Return of the Jedi_ very much! “That was bloody awesome!! There are others??”

“Yes; there are two more movies,” Remus confirmed.

“We are definitely watching them!”

“Of course,” Emily agreed as she looked at the clock on the wall, “but they’ll have to wait. We need to get some groceries for dinner, and Madame Bones and the Grangers will be arriving soon afterwards.”

“What’s on the menu?” Harry asked curiously.

“I was thinking ham, broccoli casserole, and a Greek tortellini salad,” Mariska responded.

“That sounds delicious!” Sirius commented. 

“I don’t believe I’ve ever had the opportunity to taste a broccoli casserole. What’s in it?” asked Remus.

“Broccoli, Velveeta cheese, Ritz crackers, and butter.”

“I can’t wait to eat that!” Harry enthused.

“Well, would you like to help make it? It takes some time to prepare it, and then it has to bake for 45 minutes,” said Mariska.

“Yes, I’ll help!”

“I’ll help, too. I won’t be able to help fetch the rest of the groceries, so I’m happy to help with whatever I can here at the house,” added Sirius.

“Thank you, gentlemen! Emily dear, would you fetch the ingredients for the Greek salad, please? That can be prepared closer to dinner time.”

“Sure, Mum,” her daughter replied.

“I’ll go along with you, Emily. It won’t take as long with two of us shopping,” Remus offered.

“Thanks, Remy!”

Soon, the duo left for the supermarket, leaving Mariska with Harry and Sirius. 

“Ok, gentlemen, roll up your sleeves and let’s get this casserole ready. Sirius, can you dump the broccoli florets into this glass dish, please? They have to cook before we can use them. Here, drizzle a little water on them, then cover the dish with plastic wrap. Yes, just like that! Ok, now it’ll cook in the microwave for 7 minutes. In the meantime, the casserole dish needs to be buttered and the crackers need to be crushed up…”

Sirius turned out to be pretty good in the kitchen, as was Harry, and they had the ham done and casserole nearly done in the oven when Emily and Remus returned from the store with the groceries.

“It smells great in here!” Remus complimented as he and Emily came into the kitchen with the grocery bags.

“These two gentlemen are quite good at cooking,” said Mariska with a grin as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “Em, would you get the Greek salad ready? The Grangers and Madame Bones will be arriving very shortly.”

Indeed, the Grangers arrived at 6:00 sharp, with Hermione tackling Harry in a bear hug.

“Harry!! How are you? I’ve missed you!”

Laughing, Harry returned the hug. “I’m great, Hermione. And you? I’ve missed you, too!”

While the teens caught up, Emily introduced Charlotte and Jacob to the other adults, and Charlotte gave Emily the Battenberg cake they brought as a dessert.

“Thank you, Charlotte! That looks divine!”

“Thank you!”

Another knock came from the front door, and Mariska returned from opening it with Madame Bones in tow.

“Good evening,” she greeted as she entered the dining room.

“Hello, Amelia! So good to see you again!” said Emily.

The Head of the DMLE greeted each of them, shaking Jacob and Charlotte’s hands as she introduced herself.

Dinner itself was an almost silent affair as everyone enjoyed Mariska’s masterpiece of a meal with just idol chit chat like, “How’s your summer been?” and “How’s your homework so far?” The conversation picked up as they indulged in Charlotte’s cake, which was just as delicious as it looked. 

“So,” Jacob began, “I’d like to get to know you all a little better. Well, most of you. Hermione has spoken so much of you, Harry, that I feel like I already know you.”

Both teens went pink at this comment, and Mr. Granger continued, “I’d also like to figure out how that unpleasant brute at King’s Cross figures into this when there is a room full of adults sitting here who clearly love this young man.”

Harry frowned at the mention of Uncle Vernon, and Hermione began to object. “Daddy, maybe we could not talk about this now?”

“No, it’s ok,” said Harry with a resigned sigh. “We might as well get it done and over with. I’d like to enjoy the rest of your visit without the impending conversation about the Dursleys hanging over my head, Hermione.”

The young witch squeezed her best friend’s hand. “Alright, Harry.”

“Where should we begin?” asked Mariska.

“From the beginning. We are dreadfully uninformed except for the highlights, I’m afraid,” said Charlotte with a kind, albeit small, smile. 

Sirius and Remus took turns explaining the highlights of their childhoods and what they knew of James and Peter’s, of how they had become best friends and formed the Marauders, and, after guilty looks at a smirking Amelia Bones, how Sirius, James, and Peter had become Animagi. 

“Like Professor McGonagall,” Hermione supplied to her parents. “Remember when she turned into a cat when she told us that I was a witch?”

“Of course!” her father exclaimed. “When you see a woman transform into a cat before your very eyes, you’re not likely to forget it anytime soon!”

“I was deeply touched that my friends not only hadn’t abandoned me when they found out what I was, but they had illegally become Animagi so that they might make my transformations more bearable, even fun,” said Remus, still glancing guiltily at Amelia, who was shaking her head and laughing.

“Why was it illegal?” asked Charlotte curiously.

“Well, we were underage, and we didn’t register as Animagi like we were supposed to. What we were doing was considered incredibly dangerous, and if we told the Ministry of Magic that we were becoming Animagi so we could hang out with a werewolf on the full moon, it would never have been allowed,” Sirius explained.

“Wasn’t it dangerous?” asked Jacob.

“Not for Sirius, James, and Peter,” said Remus. “A werewolf is only a danger to humans. It cannot harm animals.”

“Once we’d all managed the transformation, we would slip down to the Whomping Willow under James’s Invisibility Cloak-“

“Invisibility Cloak?” asked both adult Grangers curiously.

Harry grinned. “I’ll be right back.” He got up from his seat and dashed to his room, returning with a silky material folding in his arms. He shook it out like a beach towel and held it up for Jacob and Charlotte to see. “This is my dad’s Invisibility Cloak.” He then wrapped it around himself, and Charlotte let out a small scream of surprise as Harry completely disappeared except for his grinning head.

“Where did the rest of you go?!”

Hermione stood, laughing at the look on her parents’ faces. “He’s still all there; you just can’t see him. Look!” She reached out and gripped one of Harry’s arms, and her parents saw as she was able to pull his arm up so his hand slid from under the Cloak and became visible again.

The other adults save Mariska and Madame Bones looked nostalgic at the sight of Harry and the Cloak.

“It’s almost like being back in time and watching James,” said Sirius with a shake of his head.

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks at the “back in time” comment as the former Prisoner of Azkaban continued, “So, we would sneak down to the Whomping Willow on the night of the full moon. Peter, who could turn into a rat, would slip between the branches and hit the knot that froze the tree’s movements, and then James and I would transform as well and head inside to meet Moony.”

Jacob questioned, “Moony?” as Charlotte asked, “What were your animal forms?”

“We liked to pull pranks in school. We called ourselves the Marauders and fashioned nicknames after our transformed selves. As a werewolf, I was Moony. Peter was Wormtail. James was a stag that we called Prongs. And Sirius-“

Sirius interrupted Remus’s explanation by standing and transforming into his Animagus form.

“-was Padfoot,” Remus finished with a chuckle.

Sirius was laughing too when he reappeared and sat back down. Then he picked back up the story. “We would go on grand adventures across the grounds in our animal forms. It was dangerous, but we were pretty stupid as kids. I was extra stupid. As I said, we had a bitter rivalry with Snape, and I took it too far one day. He was, of course, very interested in where Remus went every month, so I, er, thought it would be funny to tell him how to freeze the Whomping Willow. He did, but thankfully James found out and stopped him from going through the tunnel. Had he gone through, Remus would have attacked him and it would have been all my fault.”

“Why did you hate each other so much?” Jacob asked, brows knit together as he tried to figure the story out.

“It’s a long story,” said Emily. “Severus was one of Lily’s best friends when she came to Hogwarts. They had met as young children, and he was actually the first to tell her that she was a witch and that she wasn’t going crazy when she accidentally turned Petunia’s hair green during an argument. Petunia was actually really jealous of the fact that Lily was a witch and she wasn’t. She also hated Severus for this reason, although he didn’t endear himself to her too well either by making it clear that he considered himself better than Petunia because she’s a Muggle. Severus was also very interested in the Dark Arts, which was what started the rivalry between Severus and James and his friends.”

“Well, that and James was super jealous that Snape was hanging out with Lily,” Sirius added.

“Well, Lily and I became friends right away. We were both sorted into Gryffindor and both had Muggle upbringings, so we bonded immediately. We became like sisters after a while. Lily was broken-hearted by Petunia’s complete rejection of her; Lily wrote her tons of letters every year for all seven years that we were at Hogwarts, and Petunia never answered a single one. We did everything together. She tried to maintain her friendship with Severus too, despite him being sorted into Slytherin, and it worked until our fifth year. She’d defended him tirelessly every time he got into a fight with the Marauders, and she often told James that he was an arrogant bully. James ended up being right about Severus, though. She intervened during a particularly nasty fight that had become physical between James and Severus, but Severus turned on her and snarled that he didn’t need the protection of a Mudblood.”

There was no need to explain the cruel word, for Charlotte gasped and Jacob’s eyes narrowed as he growled, “Whoever came up with such a disgusting term?”

“I’m sorry that you’re familiar with it,” said Emily sadly. “How did you hear about it?”

“Draco Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood in our second year because she made a fool of him during a Quidditch practice when he was showing off the brooms his father bought for the Slytherin team,” said Harry, expression mirroring Mr. Granger’s.

“Of course it was a Malfoy,” Sirius commented darkly.

Emily continued, “Lily was devastated by this, and she cut Severus out of her life completely. It was around this time that James began to mature as well, and it wasn’t too long before Lily began to be friendlier towards him. In fact, in our seventh year, she and I became Animagi, too. Much to everyone’s amusement, Lily was a doe, and we called her Firefawn. I was called Songfeather because, well-“ There was a pop, and Emily became a mockingbird with electric blue feathers on her left wing. She flew in a circle a few times chirping a short melody before reappearing as her normal self. 

“It was also during our seventh year that Lily finally accepted James’s offer for a date. I know the rest of us were celebrating, too!”

“We’d been calling them getting together since our first year,” Remus commented with a smirk.

“Indeed,” Amelia agreed, speaking for the first time since the conversation started. “I’ve never seen a couple so suited for each other like Lily Evans and James Potter!”

“They were married not too long after graduating from Hogwarts,” said Sirius, a sad, wistful smile on his face.

Harry’s smiled and told his godfather, “Mum and Dad’s wedding photo is one of my favorites. They both look so happy. It’s also the only photo I have of you.”

Sirius’s smile became more cheerful. “That was one of the happiest days of their lives, besides the day you were born.”

“That was the happiest day of Padfoot’s life, too,” said Remus thoughtfully. “He cried when James asked him to be your godfather.”

  
“They were so proud to be your parents,” said Emily.

“I swear, James said, ‘I’m a father!’ every day for three weeks when he came to the office,” said Amelia.

Harry felt the corner of his eyes sting with unshed tears, and Hermione wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a side hug. 

“So, how did all that joy turn into those horrible people at the train station?” asked Jacob.

“Voldemort,” said Sirius gravely.

“The most evil wizard in our history. Those were very dark times. You never knew if you were going to find the Dark Mark hovering over your home and your family murdered. You didn’t know who you could trust anymore. Voldemort’s Death Eaters were just as cold-hearted and brutal as he was, and they took great pleasure in torturing and murdering Muggles or Muggleborns, or anyone else they felt like killing,” said Amelia.

“There was no such thing as defying Voldemort and living to tell the tale,” Emily continued, “This is where our failure of Harry starts. My father refused to serve Voldemort, and he fought with the Aurors to stop him. Walden McNair tortured my father to death and left his body in what was left of our living room after he blew up the house and conjured the Dark Mark.”

Charlotte clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oh!! Oh, I’m so sorry!”

Jacob shuddered before asking, “What is this Dark Mark you keep mentioning, and how does this affect Harry?”

“The Dark Mark is Voldemort’s calling card,” Remus explained. “It looks like a green firework in the shape of a snake wrapped through a skull.”

“If you were part of Magic Britain during Voldemort’s reign of terror, then the Dark Mark was one of the most terrifying sights there was,” said Sirius with a shudder of his own.

“After my husband’s murder, I completely shut down,” Mariska recalled. “We were childhood friends, and we were married and had Emily by the time we were 20. I had no idea how to live without Shane, and I was terrified that those demons would take my daughter away from me, too. Emily had to take care of me for a while; I had a complete nervous breakdown and wasn’t mentally capable of doing anything. She took us to Munich, where my family is from. They’re all gone now, but we both speak German and we’d been to visit my aunts many times. It was a good decision, because the familiar environment definitely made my recovery easier.”

“We were in Munich for 12 years,” said Emily. “I lost contact with Lily and James when Harry was about 4 months old. I was so focused on my mother’s mental health and recovery that I hadn’t bothered keeping up with any news, and I didn’t know any Magic people in Germany. When Mum was finally ready to return to Britain, I was so excited to find Lily and James and surprise them with the news that we were returning. I was devastated upon our return to learn that Lily and James had died!”

“We’re getting a little out of order, Em,” said Sirius gently. When the witch nodded, the wizard continued, “Lily and James were exactly like Shane Tarleton: very vocal of their opposition to Voldemort, and three times they defied him. Then, Dumbledore made them aware that they were in danger and convinced them to go into hiding. They used something called a Fidelius charm, which allows you to hide something or someone where it cannot be found by anyone except those that are given the Secret. Say, for example, I wanted to hide this cake plate and I used the Fidelius charm. No one would able to see it, even though we’re all sitting here staring at it. Only I would know it was there. Now, you also have a Secret Keeper…let’s say I make Harry my Secret Keeper. I’ve told him that the cake plate is in the middle of the table. Now he can see it, too. As long as he keeps my secret, no one will find the plate except the two of us.”

“So they used this charm to go into hiding, and they had a Secret Keeper,” Jacob summarized. Charlotte’s face paled as she connected to dots in her mind.

“Whoever their Secret Keeper was told Voldemort where to find them!”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Remus confirmed heavily. “Our other friend, Peter Pettigrew, was Lily and James’s Secret Keeper.”

“That’s my fault,” Sirius muttered darkly. “James wanted to use me as Secret Keeper, but I thought that we could fool Voldemort. I let everyone think that I was the Secret Keeper so I could be a decoy. Peter was known for not being as talented as the rest of us and for being something of a wimp, so I suggested that James make him the Secret Keeper with the idea in mind that no one would ever suspect that a weakling like him would be given such an important task. None of us counted on Peter’s cowardice leading him to join the Death Eaters. Indeed, he told Voldemort the Secret just a week after they went into hiding.”

Both Dr. Grangers stared in horror. Harry clenched his fists angrily and willed himself to remain composed. Even though he already knew most of the details, it still enraged him to hear the story of Pettigrew selling his mother and father out to Voldemort.

Sirius swallowed thickly a few times before continuing, “They didn’t stand a chance. Voldemort murdered Lily and James and attempted to kill Harry as well. We still don’t know why, but when he tried to kill Harry, the curse rebounded onto himself and destroyed his body. I had gone to check on Peter that night, but when I saw signs of a hasty retreat, I knew something was wrong. When I arrived at Godric’s Hollow to check on Lily and James, I found them dead and Harry bleeding and crying for his mother. Devastated as I was about Lily and James, there aren’t words to describe my immense joy at finding Harry alive! As I prepared to take Harry home, Hagrid arrived and said he had orders from Dumbledore to take Harry to him for safety. I argued that I would take care of Harry’s safety as I’m his godfather and was now responsible for raising him. Hagrid refused and kept telling me that Dumbledore wanted Harry brought to him to ensure his safety. At the time, even though I was loathe to follow along, I believed that no one would dare try to harm Harry while he was in Dumbledore’s care. I let Hagrid take him and then made the stupid decision to hunt Peter down. I wanted to make him pay for his treachery. I cornered him on a street in London, but the rat was cleverer than I ever gave him credit for. When he saw me, he yelled for the whole street to hear, ‘Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?’ When I raised my wand to attack him, he blew the street apart with a blasting hex, killing 12 Muggles. Then he cut off his finger, transformed into his Animagus form, and disappeared into the hole he’d created. I never really understood what temporary insanity was until that day, but now I do. I’d failed to protect Lily and James. I’d failed to secure custody of Harry. Now, I’d failed to apprehend the man responsible for making the tragedy possible. I started laughing, and I’m sure I looked like a lunatic. Minister Bagnold, the previous Minister of Magic, had me sent to Azkaban without a trial on the advice of Barty Crouch Sr., Amelia’s predecessor.”

“No trial?!” Hermione’s parents looked outraged.

“No trial. They wanted a swift resolution to the matter, and it was chaotic in the aftermath of Voldemort’s downfall, so they could basically do whatever they wanted.”

Remus took over again. “Lily and James included a custody order in their will. As godfather, Sirius was at the very top of the list of guardians. When he went to Azkaban, guardianship was supposed to go to either Emily, me, or to Frank and Alice Longbottom, friends of theirs with a son Harry’s age. I don’t consider myself a suitable guardian for a child since I turn into a dangerous monster once a month. Emily was laying low in Germany, and poor Frank and Alice are lifetime residents of the mental ward at St. Mungo’s Hospital.” 

“Neville’s parents?” Hermione asked in surprise. “What happened? I knew that he’d been raised by his grandmother and he never talks about his parents, so I assumed they’d passed away.”

“That would’ve been kinder than what happened to them,” said Sirius with a sigh. “They were both tortured into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse by a group of Death Eaters. They have absolutely no memories and have very limited cognitive and physical abilities.” Hermione gasped.

“Oh, poor Neville!”

Harry shook his head sympathetically, remembering that he wasn’t supposed to know this information yet. 

“Part of what we’re trying to figure out is why neither of us was contacted about guardianship of Harry,” said Remus. “For reasons I don’t understand, Dumbledore decided to leave Harry in the care (Sirius and Harry both snorted bitterly) of Petunia, Lily’s sister. Petunia and her husband, Vernon, were not in consideration for guardianship. Lily and Petunia hadn’t spoken in a long time when she died, and Petunia hated magic. She wouldn’t let Lily be a bridesmaid in her wedding and didn’t even come to Lily’s wedding. No, Lily and James never considered Petunia as a guardian for Harry.”

“The old coot’s excuse for placing Harry with Petunia was some sort of convoluted nonsense about Harry having protective magic around him because Lily sacrificed her life protecting him and Petunia being able to continue said magic because she and Harry are both Lily’s family,” said Emily with a roll of her green eyes.

“Is that even possible?” asked Jacob dubiously.

“No,” said Sirius.

“Even if it was, Mum should’ve been protected, too,” said Harry as he had a sudden epiphany.

“How so?” asked Charlotte as Emily, Hermione, and Sirius looked at him inquisitively.

“Well, there’s this Dark creature called a Dementor. It feeds on your happiness and forces you to relive your worst moments,” Harry explained. “When I’m too close to a Dementor, I relive the night my parents were murdered. I can hear my father calling to my mother to take me and run because Voldemort is breaking in, then my mum screams as my dad dies. Then I can hear Voldemort telling my mother to step aside so he can kill me and Mum crying and begging him to spare me before he kills her. The last thing I hear before I pass out is my mother screaming my name as she dies. Dad died first, so if you can protect someone by sacrificing yourself for them, then Voldemort shouldn’t have been able to kill my mother, either.”

Sirius and Emily exchanged melancholy looks at this information while Madame Bones exhaled sharply. “So Albus Dumbledore decided that he knew the law better than the Ministry of Magic, that he knew what was best for Harry better than his own mother and father! It’s not like it was a secret that Lily wasn’t close to her sister or that Petunia hated magic. That man is going to have a lot to answer for when I’m through with him!”

“We haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet,” Harry snarked darkly, and Remus growled.

“Unfortunately, this is the part where I have to ask you some uncomfortable questions, Harry,” said Madame Bones apologetically.

“Let’s get this over with,” the boy wizard sighed.

“I’ll have to take notes as part of my investigation,” the head of the DMLE informed him.

“As long as you don’t use a Quick Quotes Quill.”

Amelia snorted. “I’ll leave that nonsense to Rita Skeeter.” Indeed, the quill she pulled out of her clutch was an eagle feather quill in a most ordinary shade of brown. “Could you please describe your living conditions at 4 Privet Drive and your treatment at the hands of your guardians, Vernon and Petunia Dursley?”

“My bedroom from the day I arrived at my aunt’s house until I began receiving my Hogwarts letters was the cupboard under the stairs, and I was often locked in the cupboard for punishment, as well. My aunt told me from as early as I can remember that my parents were unemployed drunks who were killed in a car accident that my father caused, and not to ask questions. I wasn’t sure what my name was until I started Muggle primary school, because up until that point, I had only been called ‘boy’ or ‘freak’. My uncle made it very clear that I was only living in their house because I had to and that he resented every second of my coexistence with them. I received the first hug that I can remember from Hermione at the end of our first year at Hogwarts. My birthday was always ignored, and I was never included in any holiday celebrations. My aunt and uncle were both quite happy to find excuses to punish me for the smallest mistake, especially if it was due to accidental magic.”

“Can you describe these punishments?”

“I was punched and beaten quite often by my uncle. He used his hands or his fists mostly, but he wasn’t opposed to using objects either, like a bungee cord or a golf club. He drilled my knuckles once for hitting Dudley, even though the only reason I hit him was because he’d punched me in the face and broken my glasses for the first time. Aunt Petunia made me crawl through the rose bushes when I was about 7 because I had tracked mud into the house on a rainy day. She also made me strip starkers outside so I wouldn’t drag anything else in or drip water on her carpet. I was responsible for most of the cooking by the time I was 6, but I wasn’t allowed to eat any of it. My food was the scraps off Aunt Petunia’s plate and any extras that Dudley or Uncle Vernon didn’t eat. I was often made to go without food as a punishment. Uncle Vernon made sure that I didn’t eat for a week shortly before I started getting my Hogwarts letters because I’d had an episode of accidental magic and had somehow made the glass of a snake exhibit disappear at the zoo while my cousin was looking through the glass. Aunt Petunia bashed me in the head with a frying pan because I teased Dudley and said I was going to use my wand to light a bush on fire. Dudley was encouraged to use me as a punching bag and beat me up. His favorite childhood activity was Harry Hunting, when he and his friends would chase me down and beat me up.”

The entire table was silent except for the frenzied scratching of Amelia’s quill, the hiccups and sniffles of Hermione, her mother, and the Tarleton women, and snarls from Remus. Harry glanced at his godfather and saw that his bony hands were balled up in shaking fists. Jacob Granger looked as murderous as the two Marauders did, and Amelia’s jaw was so clenched so tightly that Harry was surprised her teeth didn’t shatter. Harry remembered that Moony and Mr. Weasley had threatened Uncle Vernon after Sirius died in the old timeline, but the werewolf certainly didn’t display the level of rage that he was showing right now. It then dawned on him that Remus hadn’t known the full extent of his abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle in the previous timeline. _I wonder how much I could’ve changed for the better if I’d spoken up more often before?_

“I’LL KILL THEM!” Sirius roared, pounding his still shaking fist on the table and startling everyone else.

“Sirius, you’re already wanted for murder,” Remus reminded him calmly. Then, he growled, “Allow me to make them pay!”

“Make no mistake: Vernon and Petunia Dursley will pay dearly for what they’ve done!” Amelia vowed. “However, you two gentlemen would do well to remember that this thirst for revenge is why you’re a fugitive right now, Sirius, and part of why Harry ended up with these demons in the first place!”

This effectively shut the two Marauders down, and both looked shame-faced down at their empty plates. 

“Now,” continued Amelia in a more serene tone, “Emily, you and I need to set up an appointment at St. Mungo’s to evaluate Harry’s health and get some physical proof to take to the Muggle police as well as before the Wizengamot for a hearing on our side of the law. I will also be sending some Aurors out to investigate why, exactly, the Potters’ will was ignored and how Albus bloody Dumbledore was able to get away with taking control of Harry’s life. I’ll have you sign off on what you told me tonight, Harry, to serve as your sworn statement. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to add.” Turning to Remus and Emily, she continued, “I’ll be taking statements from to two of you as well.”

“I want to give a statement,” Sirius insisted.

“Yes, as would we,” Charlotte asserted.

“Of course,” Amelia reassured. “Unfortunately, Sirius, yours will have to be off the record until I’ve made more headway in clearing your name, but I’ll be happy to accept your statement in the meantime.” 

“I’m sure Severus will be happy to cooperate,” said Remus thoughtfully. “He was apoplectic with rage when he found out what happened to Harry.”

“I will indeed be taking statements from Professor Snape, as well as the rest of the Hogwarts staff. I’ve already told Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks to be ready to go at a moment’s notice and to expect that they’ll be knee-deep in this investigation until we’ve taken it to trial. I’m going to take as much time as I need to in order to have such a strong case that even Albus Dumbledore won’t be able to wriggle out of this travesty!” 


	13. And the Ally Is...

Chapter 13- And the Ally is…

The next few weeks were quite busy for Harry. Hermione was a constant visitor, arriving at least 3 times a week to do everything from working on homework with Harry to just hanging out. Both teens had been amused by Sirius’s reactions to seeing the rest of the _Star Wars_ movies, and Hermione had made it her personal mission to help Harry improve his basic swimming skills by asking her parents to take them to the public pool near her house. Harry had caught himself staring at Hermione in her bathing suit a few times, and the witch had blushed when she’d caught him looking in the process of doing some of her own checking out. Harry had insisted on wearing a swim shirt as well as trunks, too self-conscious to allow Hermione to see his scar-riddled body yet, but the outfit looked good on him, the curly haired girl had mused.

Today, the teens were on their way back from the cinema with Emily, Remus, and a wig-wearing bespectacled Sirius after seeing 2 films, _The Lion King_ and _The Shadow_. Harry had never seen a Disney movie before, though he’d heard Hermione rave about them, and they’d both been intrigued by the trailer for _The Shadow_. The experience had been quite fun for the whole group as Harry and Hermione had gotten to spend time together, Harry had been able to experience another first that had long been denied him, and the adults had gotten to hang out again after so many years apart. Mariska, who was recuperating from a nasty bout of flu, had opted to stay home and sleep off the rest of her illness, but she was awake when the group had Apparated back in the middle of the living room.

“There’s been a call for you, Harry,” she told him.

“A phone call?” he repeated, perplexed. Hermione was the only person he could think of that would call him, and she was with him at the moment. Even though he’d given Neville and Ron the number for Emily’s house, both boys had communicated only by owl post or Floo so far.

“Who called?” inquired Emily, brows furrowed suspiciously.

“Dudley Dursley.”

“Huh?!” Harry was shocked. Even though Dudley had ended things with him on a positive note in his previous life, it had taken him saving his life from a Dementor to prompt that change, which certainly hadn’t happened in this time.

“Did he say what he wanted?” asked Remus.

“He said that he was sorry and that he wanted to talk to Harry,” said Mariska.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks.

“Do you want to talk to him, Harry?” the witch asked.

“I don’t know,” Harry admitted. “If he’s serious—“

“No, I’m Sirius,” his godfather interjected with a playful smirk.

Harry chuckled before continuing, “If he really means what he says, then yes. I‘m a little skeptical that he suddenly wants to talk to me, but he went to all the trouble of finding a way to contact me, so that counts for something, I suppose.”

“If you did want to talk to him, Harry, he said he’d call back tomorrow around 4:30 when his parents wouldn’t be home. He’s smart enough to know that they wouldn’t allow it if they knew he was talking to you,” informed Mariska.

“You sure that was Dursley’s son?” Sirius grunted. He was still furious with the Dursley family and wasn’t feeling particularly charitable towards them.

“I guess I’ll find out tomorrow,” said Harry.

“You’re going to talk to him?” asked Hermione.

“Yes. He took the time to track me down and reach out to me. I’ll at least hear him out.”

True to his word, the phone rang at exactly 4:30 the next afternoon. Harry picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Harry?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

The Muggle boy took an audible sigh of relief. “I’m glad you answered. There’s so much to say!” He took a deep breath before going on. “I want to start by telling you how sorry I am, Harry. I know I was terrible to you. I beat you up, I made fun of you, and I rubbed all of the affection I got in your face. I know that just apologizing isn’t good enough, but it’ll have to do for now.”

Harry was amazed by the conversation so far, but he was even more surprised by how naturally his reply came to him. “I forgive you, Dudley. We were just kids, and it’s not like you were taught better or knew anything else. I have to admit, though: I’m not sure what brought this on.”

“Well, that Emily woman at the train station. I couldn’t get it out of my head how she said your parents would have treated me like a second son if I’d been the one orphaned, and I know that my parents certainly never treated you like a son. I tried to make sense of it. Why would they treat you so badly if your mum would’ve been so kind to me despite the relationship between her and my mum? I realized that I didn’t know anything about your mum except that her name was Lily, and I only found that out when you did the day that giant came and told you that you’re a wizard. I decided to try and get some information.”

FLASHBACK-4 PRIVET DRIVE

“Mum?” Dudley prompted. Petunia had sat down with a cup of tea just a few minutes earlier, and Dudley had been sitting attempting to watch TV but not really focusing, his mind too distracted by the questions he wanted to ask. 

“What is it, Dudley?” Petunia answered curiously, surprised to hear her son speaking while he had a television program on; this was one that he was normally completely engrossed in. 

“Can you tell me about Aunt Lily? You never talk about her, and I was wondering what she was like. Did she look like you? How far apart are you-“

“Why the devil are you asking me about _her_?” Petunia hissed, spitting out the last word like it was poison. Dudley looked at his mother, shocked by her venomous reaction to his question. 

“I want to know more about her. I don’t know anything about her except her name, she’s Harry’s mum, and she’s dead.” 

“Lily was a freak just like her husband and her son, and I don’t want to talk about her! We’re going to forget about this and not be discussing such drivel when your father comes home!” said Petunia stubbornly. 

“But Mum-“Dudley protested. 

“Enough of this, Dudley!” Petunia shrieked so fiercely that Dudley dared not argue back. Instead, he sighed and tried to turn his attention to the TV, but he just wasn’t interested. 

Dudley had been working hard on improving himself since the beginning of the summer, and he was pleased with the results so far. He’d made his rounds through the neighborhood, tracking down as many of the kids he’d bullied as he could to apologize to them. His weight was down to a much healthier number, he had more energy, and he felt amazing! However, he still wasn’t settled with what had happened with Harry. There were many nights that Dudley couldn’t sleep as memories of punching Harry, breaking his glasses, and chasing him all over the place haunted him. He was also becoming painfully aware of just how abusive his parents had been to his cousin, and he couldn’t get Emily’s words out of his head about how his Aunt Lily would have treated him if she would have raised him instead. Since his mother refused to answer his questions and he knew that any mention of the Potter family in front of his father was the equivalent of poking a bear in the eye with a butter knife, he decided to look through the boxes of mementos from his Grandma and Grandpa Evans to see if they had any pictures or information about Lily in them. He saw his chance one night when his parents went out with a new business client of his father’s and he was home by himself. Dudley began nosing through the attic and came across the boxes of his grandparents’ things. When he bent to open the first box, he noticed another box shoved into the corner by itself. Curiously, the Muggle boy pulled the lonely box out and saw that it was simply labeled, “Lily”. “Jackpot,” he muttered as he quickly hoisted the lid off. Inside the box were photographs of two little girls, one brunette and one redhead. Recognizing the brunette as his mother, Dudley realized that the other girl had to be his Aunt Lily. There were several photographs of two smiling girls who looked like they were having the time of their lives. “This must be before Aunt Lily found out she was a witch,” Dudley commented to himself. As he continued going through the box, he found a stack of letters written on parchment, which he recognized from seeing Harry’s Hogwarts acceptance letter. Dudley was fascinated and began unfolding the first one to read. As he did so, another piece of paper fell out of it. Upon picking it up, Dudley discovered that it was a photograph, but he was surprised to see that the people in it were waving and moving around! “Must be magic,” the youngest Dursley realized. Grinning at the opportunity to observe magic and noting to himself that nothing terrible had happened to him despite his parents’ opinions on magic, Dudley began studying the photo. He instantly recognized his Aunt Lily, who was grinning brightly and waving enthusiastically. She was wearing a black robe with a red and gold lion badge on the right side. In the photograph with her was another girl in the black robe with a lion, but this girl had long black hair; she looked bizarrely familiar. Dudley frowned in confusion before his eyes scanned over the last figure in the picture, who looked uncomfortable but managed a small smile. While he was also wearing a black robe, the boy’s had a green and silver snake on the pocket instead of the red and gold lion on Lily’s and the other girl’s, and the boy’s hair was long and somewhat greasy. Dudley turned his attention back to the letter that accompanied the picture and began reading:

Dear Mum, Dad, and Tuney,

Hogwarts is AMAZING! I’m learning so much about myself and my powers. Severus says that this is the best school for magic in Europe, and from what I have experienced so far, I agree! I so wish you could be here at Hogwarts with me, but since we can’t be here together, I’ll tell you about it instead. Hogwarts is a huge castle, just like in our storybooks! There are four Houses here, which is the group that we live with and attend classes with. To determine which House we go into, we have to put the Sorting Hat on. It looks like a beat up old witch’s hat, but he talks and reads our minds! It’s really cool! I got sorted into Gryffindor, the House for those who have courage and heart, and is represented by a lion. Sev wasn’t too happy about my Sorting, because we got separated; he was Sorted into Slytherin, the House of the cunning and ambitious, which is represented by a snake. We’ll still have classes together though, and we can spend our free time together as well. I also made a new friend in Gryffindor: Emily Tarleton. Her father is a wizard, but her mother is non-magic. She’s really nice and a big music lover, and since her mum is a Muggle, she knows about the music we listen to as well, and we’ve already talked about it a lot! Emily asked a boy in our House, Sirius Black, to take a picture of me with her and Severus so I could send you a photograph. I love magic photographs, and I hope you will, too! I’m grateful to Sirius for taking the photo, but he’s pretty cocky, and his best friend, an arrogant toe rag named James Potter, is terribly rude to Severus. I don’t like either one of them, but Emily seems to find Sirius amusing for some reason. 

Our classes are really cool too! We’ve just started, of course, so we haven’t done much, but I already feel like I’m learning a lot! Gryffindor has Potions with Slytherin, so I get to see Sev, and we work together a lot. My teacher, Professor Slughorn, really seems to like me, and he told me that he thinks I have a natural talent for brewing potions! Isn’t that exciting? I’m really enjoying Charms as well. Our teacher, Professor Flitwick, is part Goblin, and he’s really tiny but very powerful. He says that we’ll learn how to make objects levitate before Halloween! Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, and today we started learning the beginning theory of the subject. Once we’ve mastered that, we can begin practicing turning matches into needles! The only thing I don’t like about Transfiguration is James Potter; the subject seems to come easy to him, and he’s always boasting about his skills, which is already quite annoying. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun: we’re going to have our first flying lesson! I can’t wait to have my first ride on a broomstick!

I am really enjoying myself at Hogwarts; I fit right in with everyone else, and I feel right at home here. I just wish that you could all come and see it yourselves, too. Tuney, I hope that you can forgive me for leaving you. I didn’t want to leave you behind, but I have to learn what I’m capable of and how to control my magic. I didn’t choose to have powers, and I wish that you had them too so you could come with me. I hope you’re not still mad at me; I really miss you and I’d love to hear from you. I love you, Mum, Dad, and Tuney, and I hope to hear from you soon! The owl that delivered the letter has been asked to wait for a reply, so you can send your letter back with him.

Love,

Lily

Dudley was overwhelmed by what he’d learned. His mother had been bitter towards his aunt since they were children, and obviously that hadn’t changed. Dudley also received clarity that the girl in the picture was the same Emily that had taken Harry in. He’d also learned quite a bit about the world his aunt and cousin belonged to, the world his parents so despised but that he found himself fascinated with. It was also strange to hear Lily talk so negatively about James Potter when Dudley knew that she would end up marrying him and having Harry with him. He also recognized the name Sirius Black from both Emily having mentioned him at King’s Cross Station and from the news program saying that he was a mass murderer with a weapon. This had Dudley curious about this supposedly dangerous man, but he decided to mull that issue over later. He turned his attention back to the photograph, the three eleven-year-olds still smiling and waving. “Well Aunt Lily, Mum may not like magic photos, but I do!” Dudley glanced at his watch and realized that he’d been in the attic for a while, so he put the letter and photograph back in the box and replaced the lid. Noting that the box of Lily’s belongings had been shoved into a dark corner of the room where it wouldn’t be noticed, the young Muggle decided to take the box with him to his room so he could see what else was inside of it without fear of being discovered by his parents. After all, he reasoned, he would be able to hear the car pull up in the driveway, and he could hide the box in his closet when it did so his parents wouldn’t find out. Dudley discovered that the rest of the letters in the box were correspondences back and forth between his Aunt Lily and his grandparents, all of which asked about his mother’s well-being and expressed a longing for the sisterly bond they’d once shared. There were also several letters addressed to his mother in his aunt’s handwriting that were still sealed and therefore his mother had never read. Dudley hesitated only for a moment before breaking the seal on each one and reading them. Despite the large number of them, each letter was basically the same in format: Lily would tell Petunia about what was happening to her, then she would apologize for the rift between them and would beg for Petunia to forgive her and begin communicating with her once again. These letters ranged from Lily’s first year at Hogwarts to her last year, each one more and more desperate for an answer from its recipient. There were also a number of photographs of Lily with Severus and Emily, as well as other witches and wizards. Dudley lifted another picture out of the box and almost dropped it in surprise when he saw what appeared to be his cousin in the photo. After a few seconds though, Dudley shook his head and realized that the boy in the picture had to be James Potter. “Harry really does look like Uncle James,” he murmured. He was somewhat surprised at how easy it was to call Harry’s parents “aunt” and “uncle” when he had never met them and had been told all of his life about what “terrible people” they were. However, Dudley had realized that his mother and father were very bitter, nasty people and that their opinions of people were totally wrong, and he resented them for it. After all, such attitudes had caused him to be an aggressive bully who believed he could do whatever he wanted and had robbed his cousin of good memories of his parents and a of a positive relationship with him. Sighing, Dudley returned his attention to the contents of the box. Inside were Christmas and birthday cards for Petunia and their parents, as well as an invitation to Lily and James’s wedding, an invitation to Lily’s baby shower from Emily, and a letter informing Petunia that Lily had had a baby. This last letter included a photograph of Lily and James with a newborn Harry. Dudley smiled as he looked at the picture. “Harry would love to have this,” he said to himself. Suddenly, he had an idea. “I need to talk to Harry! How, though? I don’t have an owl, nor do I have Harry’s address.” A minute later, Dudley slapped his forehead. “Oy! I can call him! Where’s the phonebook?” Dedicated to his new mission, Dudley double-checked Lily’s first letter for Emily’s name, quickly replaced the box’s contents and put it in his closet, and ran downstairs to find a phonebook. Once it was located, Dudley skimmed through to the “T” section. “Tarleton, Tarleton...there’s only one Tarleton in here, and she is in the country, like Emily said, but this is for Mariska Tarleton. Well, it’s worth trying, anyway.”

END FLASHBACK

“So, I’ve been going through the box of Aunt Lily’s things so I could try to learn more about her. There’s hundreds of letters here addressed to Mum and to Grandma and Grandpa Evans. None of the ones to Mum were opened, but I’ve start going through them. There are tons of photographs as well, including one of you as a baby with your parents. I thought you’d want it.”

Harry’s mind was reeling. “Wow…this is actually incredible, Dudley! Yes, I’d definitely like to see that photograph. I’d like to see what else is in the box. I’d really like to tell you what I know about Mum and let you see some of our world.”

“I’d really like that, but I’d have to come up with a good cover story. You know Mum and Dad would never willingly let me come to you.”

“No, definitely not.” He paused for a minute before adding, “Let me check with Hermione. Her parents are Muggles, and they’re dentists. Maybe they can help us come up with something.”

“Ok, yeah!” It was Dudley’s turn to pause before saying, “I really am so sorry, Harry. I hope that I can see you in person soon!”

“I forgive you, Dud. Really. Don’t worry: we’ll figure it out so we can meet up!”

Harry was smiling as he said goodbye and hung up the phone. His happy smile turned to a smirk when he heard muffled shuffling from the other side of the door. “You lot can come in, now.”

Sirius, Remus, Emily, and Mariska guiltily shuffled into the room. 

“Sorry, pup,” said Sirius. “We were just concerned.”

“I know, and I really appreciate it. So, any ideas for how to sneak Dudley over here under Uncle Vernon’s purple nose?”

“I think you were on to something with asking Jacob and Charlotte for help,” said Emily. 

“They might be able to pull something with their practice, like an apprenticeship or something similar,” Remus mused.

“Well, no matter what we have to do, we’re going to get that boy over here!” Mariska promised.

Harry smiled and enjoyed the feeling of having his family around him showing him their love and support. He was happily surprised that he could now include Dudley in that category and really hoped that Hermione’s parents could help him see his cousin again soon.


	14. The Devil You Know

Chapter 14: The Devil You Know

The Grangers’ practice, unfortunately, would not approve an internship for someone Dudley’s age, deeming it too unsafe. 

“However,” Jacob continued after taking a swig of his tea, “I was talking to a friend of mine, Stephen, who’s an attorney. There’s a psychologist that often serves as a consultant on criminal cases for him that would be able to offer Dudley some coursework in psychology for the summer. The office is 10 minutes down the road from our practice, so it would be quite easy to transport Dudley. I also took it upon myself to lay the groundwork for needing legal advice for a case that must remain quiet for the time being with some… unnatural elements to it, and he said that he knows a man that might be able to help us with that, as well.”

“My goodness!” said Mariska.

“Do you think that this will be safe?” asked Emily. 

“I trust him,” said Jacob. “That being said, you’re Harry’s guardian, and you have to do what you feel is right.”

“Since this involves both the magical and mundane worlds, we should most definitely run this past Amelia first,” said Remus. “We don’t want to do anything that would risk us violating the Statute of Secrecy.”

“I’ll send her a Floo message and see when she’s available for a meeting,” said Emily. “I know she’s been busy with the wall of paperwork Fudge has been throwing at her since she presented everyone’s memories of the night Pettigrew escaped to remove the Kiss on Sight order.”

Charlotte hesitated for a moment before commenting, “For the man in charge of magical Britain, the minister seems rather childish to me.” (A/N: Not unlike the current political environment here in the States)

Sirius chuckled. “That is an excellent summary of dear old Fudge.”

Amelia surprised everyone by her response to Emily’s Floo call. “Speak of the devil! I was about to call you myself.”

“0h? Has something come up?” asked Emily. 

“Yes, indeed,” said Amelia with an unreadable expression. “I need to see you lot at noon tomorrow for a meeting. I do mean everyone. Your entire household, Emily, including your mother and Sirius. I’ll need the Grangers and Mr. Lupin as well.”

“The Grangers are here right now,” said Emily, “and Remus is due to be here shortly.”

“Excellent. I expect to see everyone promptly at 12:00. Oh, and do dress formally for the meeting, if you would, please.”

“Formally? Are we attending a trial?” asked Mariska.

“No, ma’am,” said Amelia. “Just a meeting. However, the one who called the meeting comes from an old line of nobility. I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say any more than that. To be completely honest, I wasn’t given much more information myself. Rather mysterious, this gentleman.”

The next day at noon on the dot, the whole gang found themselves sitting with Amelia in a private meeting room inside Gringott’s. Harry was feeling awkward and nervous, sitting in the meeting room in his dress robes waiting for someone he didn’t know but was apparently important enough to warrant impressing. Indeed, a few minutes after they’d all been shown to the room by Ironclaw, there was a light knock on the door before a tall man dressed in a black tailcoat stepped into the room. The man had short black hair with long bangs and ruby red eyes, and he seemed to regard them all with a mixture of contempt and amusement as he gave a polite bow and said, “May I present to you all my master, Earl Ciel Phantomhive?”

Harry was startled by the familiar name. _This is the man William told me about in his office! What’s going on here?_

He was quite surprised to see that the earl in question looked to be around his own age, though he was rather on the short side stature wise. This obviously had no effect on the boy’s self-confidence, as he walked into the meeting room with his head held high and the bearing of a noble not unlike royalty. Earl Phantomhive had short cyan hair, and the eye not hidden by a silk eyepatch was a vivid blue. 

“Good afternoon,” he greeted them formally. “I thank you for making yourselves available to me on such short notice.”

“We’re all pleased to meet you, Earl Phantomhive,” said Amelia. 

The noble boy smirked with amusement. “You are also, no doubt, curious about why I wished to meet with you?”

“Certainly,” said Emily, a note of caution in her voice.

“At ease, Madame Tarleton,” said Ciel. “I’ve asked you all here today to offer my help for your…complicated circumstances.”

Emily opened her mouth to ask how he knew her name, but the boy had his attention elsewhere. He was looking at the tall man, who had remained standing behind his master’s chair. “Sebastian, if you would, please.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the butler answered with another bow. He left the room, returning a few moments later with a red-haired maid and two serving carts full of materials for a luncheon. 

“Oh, yes, I suppose I should introduce them to you all,” the earl commented nonchalantly. “My butler, Sebastian, and my maid, Mey-Rin.” 

“Pleasure,” said Amelia politely. 

After Sebastian and Mey-Rin had served everyone lunch and tea, Ciel turned his attention to Jacob. “It would seem we have mutual friends on your side of the world, Dr. Granger.”

Jacob looked confused. “Do we, now?”

“Yes,” said Ciel, taking a sip of his tea. “Mr. Douglas mentioned his friend, Mr. Jasper Connelly, did he not?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Mr. Connelly is a most excellent prosecuting attorney, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with him several times. He spoke to me about your need for someone with legal knowledge and a familiarity with the world beyond the mundane, which is where I come in.”

“How so?” asked Mr. Granger cautiously.

Ciel smirked. “Besides knowing that your daughter and most of the other people in this group are witches and wizards, you mean? Well, I’m not…entirely human myself.”

This statement floored everyone else in attendance except for Sebastian, who wore a smirk identical to his master’s, and Mey-Rin, who didn’t act fazed by this information in the slightest.

“What do you mean by ‘not entirely human’?” asked Hermione, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“We are simply one hell of a family,” said Sebastian, still looking highly amused.

Ciel rolled his eye. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

“My apologies, Young Master,” the butler replied.

“You aren’t sorry in the least bit,” said Ciel.

“You are a creature of some sort,” said Remus calmly.

Ciel looked at him, smirk back in place. “Not entirely unlike yourself, as I understand.”

“You seem to understand a great deal about me, and everyone else in this room,” said Remus. “Unfortunately, the rest of us seem to be at quite a disadvantage.”

“I do believe I like you already, Mr. Lupin,” said Ciel. “To put it more plainly, I am a demon, and the rest of my family are also demons.” 

Ignoring the gaping looks of everyone else in the room, Ciel continued, “I have walked this earth for 119 years now, and I have seen much in that time, including magic. I was actually first introduced to the magic world by your great-grandmother, Madame Tarleton.”

“M-my great-grandmother?” Emily repeated, still shocked. 

“Yes,” said Ciel. “Sieglinde Sullivan, who was known as the Emerald Witch. She was a dear friend of mine in my youth. Very bright, Sieglinde. Of course, magic wasn’t so easily accepted back in 1889. Not in Britain, anyway. Sieglinde gained the favor of Queen Victoria, however, when she came from Germany to study in Her Majesty’s court. I believe she ended up marrying a young nephew of the queen’s.”

“Sieglinde was my grandmother’s name,” said Mariska in a whisper. “There is magic on my side of the family as well?”

“Yes,” said Ciel. “Given your daughter’s talent with magic, I’m not surprised that it was present in both bloodlines.”

“How is it that you know so much about everyone in this room?” asked Sirius.

“Well, in my century of life, I took up my father’s role of the Queen’s guard dog, doing the bidding of the royal family and taking care of any underworldly business they might have. I must say, I’m rather fond of Queen Elizabeth. So much less idle nonsense from her; she gets right down to business and tolerates no foolishness. Anyway, I’ve become a rather talented detective in all this time, and I like to be as prepared as possible when dealing with unknown people. You’re much less likely to be taken advantage of if you know your target.”

“And how is it that Mr. Connelly came to know that you are familiar with our world?” asked Amelia.

“Well, I have a history with Mr. Connelly’s family as well. I worked with his father before him and his grandfather before him. Considering I haven’t aged since I turned 16, you sometimes have to let people in on some of your secrets to avoid people becoming too nosy or unintended exposure.”

“You became a demon at age 16, then?” said Hermione, shrewd brain working hard to keep up with the influx of information.

“I like you, as well, Miss Granger. Exceptionally bright, like dear Sieglinde. Yes, you are correct.”

 _Shut him up, will you?_ Harry heard William’s disgusted voice ask in his head. _I don’t wish to get into the particulars of Earl Phantomhive’s peculiar relationship with Sebastian Michaelis yet again_

Harry looked from Ciel to Sebastian, trying to make sense of the Reaper’s irritated comments. It took a moment for the implication to dawn on him, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Seeing Ciel’s amused gaze on him, Harry gave a small smirk of his own before commenting, “Another mutual friend who doesn’t wish to get mired in certain details.”

“Ah, yes, it has been some time since I’ve spoken to William,” said Ciel. “I suppose it is time to move on. So, we need to balance legal proceedings between the magical and mundane worlds and their justice systems.”

Sirius spoke up. “Before we get into all of this, what’s in this for you?”

Amelia shot Sirius a look, but Ciel remained calm and amused. “It is quite the miracle that Azkaban did not do damage to your intellect, Lord Black. Besides fulfilling my duties as the Queen’s guard dog, I have also taken a personal interest in the workings of your so-called Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. His precious reputation isn’t as bright and shiny as he likes the masses to think, though I do doubt that he’s aware of me and my knowledge of his entire life. I like to think that he’s had his three strikes and is now out, as it were.” Noting the confused and curious faces looking back at him, Ciel continued, “He had the power and opportunity to stop his dear friend Gellert Grindlewald from rising to power as he did, yet did nothing to stop him until he was forced. It is interesting to me, too, that he still uses Grindlewald’s concept of ‘For the Greater Good’. I feel more than qualified to state that _no_ good has ever come from any leader with such a philosophy. Indeed, Grindlewald was much like the Muggle tyrant Adolf Hitler in that ideal.” This earned several gasps and looks of shock. “Terrible connection, isn’t it? Now, Strike Two comes with his complete failure concerning Tom Marvolo Riddle. He knew from the moment he met him as a child that he was powerful and already capable of dangerous cruelty. He did nothing to stop these tendencies, and he indeed did nothing to stop him from rising to popularity and the power that came with it.”

“Tom Marvolo Riddle?” Emily repeated, looking confused.

Harry remembered that Dumbledore had mentioned that most people didn’t know that Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort were the same person, and this seemed to have dawned on Ciel as well as he said, “Ah, yes, that isn’t common knowledge. The wizard born as Tom Riddle is much better known by his chosen title of Lord Voldemort.”

The Earl Phantomhive paused for a moment to allow his audience time to react before he continued. “Dumbledore’s Strike Three goes hand-in-hand with his Strike Two. The very evening that Lily and James Potter were murdered, and Lord Voldemort fell from power, Dumbledore followed his usual pattern of dangerously terrible decisions. Deliberately ignoring a legal custody order and placing a child into an abusive home while simultaneously allowing an innocent man to rot away in a hell of a prison for crimes he didn’t commit and thus separating him from the child he’s supposed to care for is inexcusably cruel. Neglecting to take even a single look into this abusive household for ten years is crueler still. Finally, when he has the child in his care ten months a year for all intents and purposes, and he constantly creates or allows mortal danger with the intent of fulfilling a rubbish, self-fulfilling prophecy with no help or regard for this child’s well-being, or, indeed, any other child’s, is cruelest of all.” Ciel turned his gaze back to Harry. “I would like to offer you my apologies for the trauma you’ve been forced to live with, as well as my promise to do everything in my powers to help you.” The immortal earl held out his hand as he spoke, and Harry immediately shook it. 

“Thank you, Earl Phantomhive. Truly. I am grateful for your help.”

“So,” said Amelia, pulling out a quill and a scroll of parchment, “what is our first step, Earl Phantomhive?”

“As far as Mr. Connelly and young Mr. Dursley are concerned, consider that done. He will start lessons on Monday and stay in the city thru Friday each week, much like a real school.”

“What’s to stop his parents from forbidding this arrangement?” asked Charlotte.

“If they think it’ll make Dudley, and themselves, look important, they’ll let him do it with no questions asked,” said Harry dryly.

“The second order of business will be preparing the legal case to satisfy both the mundane and magical laws. There are a large number of Muggles with magical relatives, as well as Muggleborns and Squibs, who work for the law and would therefore be able to represent both worlds. It will be a simple task to present one case when all is said and done,” said Ciel.

“What about Sirius?” asked Hermione, taking notes herself.

“The Kiss on Sight order has already been lifted based on the memories provided of the night Pettigrew escaped,” said Amelia. “Unfortunately, Fudge refuses to clear Sirius’s name without physical proof, siting the possibility of fake or edited memories.”

Harry had to admit that he could see Fudge’s position based on his own recollection of Professor Slughorn’s altered memory of discussing Horcruxes with Riddle in his previous timeline. 

“With that being said,” said Amelia, “we can still use a written statement from Sirius for the trial’s purposes.”

Sebastian spoke up. “Madame Bones, are you familiar with the mundane human concept of service animals?”

//////////////////

By the time the meeting had ended, and the balls had all been set into motion, Harry’s head was spinning. At the same time, he was able to see more light at the end of the tunnel, a comeuppance swiftly arriving for Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the opportunity to forge a better bond with Dudley, and further groundwork to getting Sirius more freedom until they could clear his name completely. Harry was also still trying to grasp the new curveball in this timeline: Earl Phantomhive. He had a very strong feeling that the young demon lord would become a strong ally, perhaps even a friend? All in all, he was eager to return home a have a good long sleep so he was ready to meet each new challenge head on.

GRIM REAPER DISPATCH-LONDON BRANCH

William swallowed three Excedrin and massaged his temples. He had no idea how, exactly, Ciel Phantomhive had managed to sniff out Harry and his circumstances. The Reaper had to (very begrudgingly) admit that the earl had been very helpful. That didn’t mean that William had to like him any better. Grelle, on the other hand, thought that this was an excellent development.

“The brat did well today,” she commented with her toothy grin. “And sweet Bassie didn’t do bad himself, either.”

“Unfortunately, it appears we’ll be seeing more of them, at least until this trial is over,” said William unenthusiastically.

“Aw, cheer up, Will!” said Grelle, patting the brunet’s shoulder. “Dear Harry is getting even more help!”

“Yes, I suppose he is,” said William with a resigned sigh. So long as the earl’s input continued to help Harry, he had to set his negative feelings to the side. If they were able to help Harry succeed, William could be a big boy and play nice with Ciel Phantomhive and his household of demons.


End file.
